Alis Aquilae
by Rashka
Summary: They were warned, as many others were. Jenova was defeated, Hojo killed, the world saved with only a few craters to show for it. Well, that's all well and good but that warning ripped his world out from under him. He was the son of a madman with the blood of a murdering alien coursing through his veins. What was he supposed to do now? (Sephiroth/Oc)
1. Chapter 1

Alis Aquilae

Author's Note: I return from the land of bills and timecards! Oh, and I don't own anybody but the original characters and plot. This overarching disclaimer applies to the whole shebang as I don't want to keep typing it. Enjoy. ^^

Chapter 1

_"I wonder who decided that birds are free. _

_Even though they can fly as they desire, if there isn't a place to land or_

_if there isn't a branch they can rest their wings,_

_they may even regret having wings to fly. _

_True freedom might mean having a place to return..."_

"General?"

Sephiroth looked up to see one of the third-class soldiers peeking into the window of his office. The general waved him inside.

"Sergeant Kutnik," he said.

"Sir!" The boy, no more than fifteen, snapped to attention. "P-President Shinra's asked to see you, sir. And General Hewley wants to see you on the range."

Sephiroth nodded, mildly impressed that the boy could string a coherent sentence together.

"Thank you."

"Sir."

"Congratulations to your parents. A girl, correct?"

The boy blinked then smiled widely, straightening a little.

"Yes, sir. Savannah. Thank you, sir."

"Dismissed."

The boy hurried out of the office and Sephiroth walked out of SOLDIER Headquarters. Although relatively new, the building still smelled of fresh paint and old metal. Or 'reclaimed,' as Rufus liked to call it. Sephiroth tended to ignore the by-words of the various press releases just as he ignored the way the solar panels made the eco-friendly buildings glitter and the way the base sprawled in an almost haphazard way across the plains. It had been three years since the series of incidents the media termed "Makofall," three years since the Planet withdrew into itself and Mako energy was officially abandoned. Midgar had imploded without the artificial power.

Now "New Midgar" spread out in one or two story buildings as far as the eye could see. Rufus touted it as a new beginning, a way of correcting the wrongs his father and his generation had wrought on the planet and its people. Pretty words, but Sephiroth knew it was all more for self-preservation than altruism. Only a handful knew how critical the incident had really been.

Although, stepping onto the streets and feeling the sun on his face, seeing the sky, was a…welcome change.

The sounds of gunfire reached his ears and he quickened his pace to the range without walls and holograms. Angeal waved to him from the observation tower made from a salvaged Midgar communications spire, and Sephiroth climbed up.

"Morning, Seph," Angeal said warmly.

"Angeal. Kutnik said you wanted to see me."

"Yeah." The dark-haired general wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He'd aged a little since Makofall. Not ridiculously so but he had a few more scars, a couple gray hairs. He liked to blame them on Zack.

"The men are doing well," he said. "But I had to send a couple Seconds to the infirmary."

Sephiroth pursed his lips, stared out at the practicing soldiers.

"Withdrawal," he said.

"Looks that way. I've kept them hydrated but Spencer came down with the shakes really bad and Gideon was vomiting all over the sandbags."

"They've been using."

"Someone's supplying 'em, yeah. Or they're on something that can mimic Mako. We've got a few leads and Tseng's keeping an ear to the ground but I'm a little strapped."

His commander nodded and turned to go back down to the street.

"I appreciate your work, Angeal. The new teachers are acceptable?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'll arrange for more as I can get funding."

"Thanks. Hey, how did yesterday go?"

"More of the same. It was just Vincent and I. Ms. Gainsborough couldn't come."

"Aw. Still went well though?"

"For my being part-alien, yes." Sephiroth offered a small smile. "I'm fine, Angeal. Genesis should be back from Corel this afternoon."

"I'll make sure to keep some targets open for him."

"Good." The general climbed back down and made it to the Presidential building in good time, nodding to the soldiers guarding the doors. One would never know the world had almost ended three years ago from looking at the professional opulence of Rufus'…palace? Staircases, board rooms with ornately carved doors, a ball room…yes; 'palace' was the right word. His boots thumped on tiled floor as he walked to the president's office.

"You're late," Rufus said snidely. Sephiroth shut the door.

"Apologies. Spencer and Gideon were sent to the infirmary."

"Mmm."

"Are they okay?"

Sephiroth's gaze fell on the young, caramel-skinned woman sitting across from Rufus. He gave a polite nod and folded his hands.

"Shiushan. They'll be fine," he said. "Out of service for a week or two at most."

Her brow furrowed in concern but he turned to Rufus.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes." The blond man put some papers in a manila folder and handed it to his secretary. "It's time to get the last unit, General. You leave in the morning."

"Yes, sir." That was the best news he'd heard all day. "Is that all, sir?"

"Yes, I think I'm done with the both of you." He shooed him out with a manicured hand. "Ms. Yanna, I'd like to see you same time next month."

"Yes, Mr. Shinra. Thank you." She quickly gathered her notes and bag and hurried out after Sephiroth.

"Um, how are you, General?" she asked.

"Fine, thank you." He noted how tightly she held the papers to her chest. "And you?"

"Fine. Koda wanted me to say 'hi.'"

"Hello to him as well. How is your family?"

"Good. They don't like me traveling so much but I got to see them before I came here. Um…"

"Good." He caught sight of a Turk out the corner of his eye and led them outside. "How long are you here?"

"Not long. I've got some work to do with Dr. Ruckman and her team then I'm off to the northern counties. Word is they have corn growing."

"You've done well, Shiushan. The men are excited about your work."

She blushed and glanced away, tucking some hair behind her ear.

"Thank you, but if the towns weren't willing, if the President wasn't willing, I'd just be singing in the wind."

"Even so."

They walked on in awkward silence. Sephiroth felt the tension crawl in between his shoulder blades until Angeal spotted them from the tower and hurried to meet them.

"So good to see you, sweetie!" he cried. "I won't give you a hug 'cause I'm all gross but how've you been?"

The tension shattered like so much glass and Yanna laughed, hugging Angeal despite the warning.

"I'm great," she said. "How're you?"

"Aw, stayin' busy as always."

"I'm to retrieve the last unit," Sephiroth said, a little more deadpan than he intended. His friend's face lit up.

"That's wonderful! Just you then? That's awesome. When do you leave?"

"In the morning. You and Genesis can arrange things here?"

"Sure, sure. We'll take care of it. Genesis'll be glad to stay put for a while."

"Oh, how is he?" Yanna asked. "I haven't talked to him in like a week."

"Poor guy's run ragged with all the politics but he's good. Snarky as ever."

"Of course." Yanna glanced down at the papers. "I should go organize this stuff."

"Yeah okay. You wanna join us for lunch?"

"That would be great."

"We'll come get you around one then. See ya later, sweetie."

Yanna smiled brightly and hurried off to a nearby cab, leaving Sephiroth to round on Angeal.

"Lunch?" he asked.

"Oh, don't tell me you're still weird around her."

"We nearly made the planet explode."

"_Jenova_ nearly made the planet explode. A future version of you just happened to be involved and just happened to have a thing with another her. And why are you so worked up over something that _almost_ happened?"

"Why are you so intent on setting us up? This is the fifth attempt this month."

"Because you need some freakin' estrogen in your life, someone outside of the military."

"And you chose her."

"Why not? She's smart, she's hard-working, she's got legs a mile long—"

"That doesn't change the fact that—"

"I think she should go with you."

Sephiroth blinked, stunned.

"Are you out of your mind?" he asked. The dark one rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Look, Seph. We work with the woman. Like it or not, she is helping this planet come back to life. Have you seen the progress they've made? Towns have crops now. Viable food that has nothing to do with Mako energy. Clean water, cute, fuzzy wildlife that doesn't try to eat you."

"I'm not denying her abilities."

"No, but you are denying any kind of civil relationship with her. We see her all the time and Gen and I like spending time with her. Gen talks with her about the tribe at least once a week, usually more, to help with the peace treaties. She's not going anywhere and, since she's not, I think you should at least try and make the effort to be friends with her."

"Are you done?"

"No, if you're going to be a jerk about it. Take her with you as a morale boost for the men. Let her take pictures and show them what they have to go home to."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you refuse, geeze. I'm just asking that you give her a chance."

Sephiroth bit back a sigh and glanced away. He knew that look, that tone. Angeal was worried about him. It always surfaced when he thought he wasn't being social enough. The words changed but the argument usually ended the same way. 'You need to open up more.' Yes, he understood Angeal had good intentions but, honestly. He was twenty-eight years old. He should be past all this.

"She could never accept what we do," he said quietly.

"You might be surprised. Just…take her with you. If it's still weird and neither of you want it to go any further, then that's it. I'll leave you alone about it."

"But?"

"But if you two can actually hold a real conversation then you stop avoiding us when she's in town. It's not healthy to stay cooped up like you do."

"Fine. One publicity stunt for the men and that is it." He stalked off towards the Soldier building. "See you at lunch."

?

So. Sephiroth wasn't looking forward to lunch. At all. But his phone rang at noon on the dot and soon, he and Angeal were on their way to the airport to pick up Genesis.

The redhead had aged a little better than Angeal, looking closer to their twenty-seven years than the bigger man. He still had his flair for the dramatic though and swept out of the airport with all the wide-armed grace of a man expecting applause.

Sadly, the fangirls hovering around the entrance were more than happy to oblige.

"Welcome home, Gen," Angeal said when he escaped the throng. "How was the trip?"

"Oh, it was horrid." Genesis flicked his wrist, dismissing the entire building, and climbed into the back seat. "The women were vile, the food was disgusting, and you don't even want to know about the in-flight movie."

"I really don't," Sephiroth said.

"Hairspray!" Genesis cried. "Not the good version but the remade, TV-show swill they did a few years ago. At least with the one with Walken, no one was tone deaf! Speaking of, I'm starving. The peanuts had to have been army surplus from fifty years ago."

"We're meeting Yanna for lunch."

"Oh? Ohh." Genesis leaned forward on the seats and tilted up his sunglasses. "Is the great general actually gracing us with his presence this time?"

"Angeal…convinced me."

"Really. What argument did you use? The 'you two would make cute babies'?"

"No, the 'be friends cause she's not going anywhere,'" Angeal replied.

"Ooh, straight for the throat. Very nice." Genesis sat back and stretched his legs out on the seat. "Of course, if you ask me—"

"Didn't."

"—I think you should just sleep with her."

If Yanna noticed that Genesis was favoring his left arm and Sephiroth was flexing his hand, she made no comment.

"You…really think I should go?" Yanna looked back and forth between the generals. Angeal sat, smiling and sweet like always, while Genesis looked for all the world like he was plotting something. Which he probably was. She'd learned about his mischievous streak within months of meeting him, and she'd also managed not to be on the receiving end of any of his schemes.

Except with Sephiroth.

She couldn't quite meet the silver general in the eye, at least not for very long. He was a different man. She knew that. But any time she started to get lost in those piercing green eyes, her mind flashed back to the desperate screams of the World-Breaker, trying so hard to fight the demon that had plagued their world for so long. Her heart had made that sound when her mother died, had almost every night since. It just didn't seem right that the strong, cool soldier sitting across from her was the same raw, hurting man from before. Such pain shouldn't be so close to the surface.

None of which mattered one lick to either of his subordinates. They saved the world, created an alternate life that didn't involve Jenova or Meteor or whatever horrible things the World-Breaker warned them of. In their minds, the problem had been solved. Now, they seemed intent on addressing the other side of the Makofall Incident: the World-Breaker had been in an intimate relationship with his timeline's version of her. It still seemed so fantastic, so unreal, but then she was a shaman. Weird things happened all the time.

Still, it would be nice to go a month without a trick date.

Taking a deep breath, Yanna glanced at Sephiroth.

"General?"

"It would be good for the men to see what they have waiting for them," the silver one replied. "The recall process can take so long the men get restless waiting for their orders."

"Go ahead, honey." Genesis smiled his charming smile and winked at her. She remembered when that used to make her blush. "Who knows? Maybe you can even get this fool to have a little fun in the capital. Wutai is beautiful this time of year."

The Kalani woman picked at her food, her thick black hair shielding her face. Her gut tightened with the thought that this probably wasn't a good idea. Neither one of them did well when they couldn't escape and they would be stuck in another country for several days.

Looking up, she saw Angeal's almost pleading look. He meant well. They both did. Maybe, she supposed, it wouldn't hurt to show the boys what they could come home to. She actually had real wheat fields to offer some of them.

"Okay," she said.

"Great!" Angeal said, grinning. "We'll take care of everything. Oh, and pack your boots. It's monsoon season."

"Yeah, no one cares." Genesis held a hand up in his friend's face. "Now, please tell me something new opened at the theatre. I am _dying_ for some semblance of culture that doesn't involve cowboy boots."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning found them sitting on a massive army transport, flying to Wutai. Sephiroth half-expected Yanna to try and talk to him but she might as well have been invisible. At first, she tried to read but it was simply too early for civilians and she fell asleep quickly. At least she didn't snore.

"ETA ten minutes, sir."

Sephiroth opened his eyes, acknowledging the pilot, then turned to Yanna. The woman had fallen against him at some point, her face smooth and peaceful. Painful images of a different face, another shaman woman screaming in agony, lurching as Jenova fought to stay in its host flashed through his mind. He shook his head sharply.

"Shiushan." He nudged her and she jerked awake. Dark eyes blinked owlishly at him.

"We're almost there," he said.

"Oh." She stretched, careful of the seatbelts. "Did I sleep the whole way?"

"Almost."

"Oh. Sorry." Reaching under seat, she checked to make sure her bag was still there then the transport shuddered. She gasped, gripped the seat.

"Landing can be a little rough," he said. Her lips tight, Yanna winced at the lurching groans of the transport as it gradually dropped out of the sky.

The general turned away. Civilians.

Suddenly the alarms blared and the transport banked sharply.

"Captain!" he called.

"We're under attack, sir!"

Sephiroth unclipped his belt and ran up to the cockpit. Laser fire and bullets criss-crossed the sky over the base. Thick black smoke floated up from the trees outside to match the roaring flames within the walls.

"Hail them."

"I'm trying, sir. No answer."

He hissed through his teeth and slapped the button for the bay doors.

"Circle around," he said. "Find a safe place to land and wait for my order."

"Yes, sir."

Grabbing Masamune, the general ran to the lowering ramps in the back of the transport.

"General, what's going on?" Yanna yelled over the wind.

"Stay with the transport," he said. "We've flown into a skirmish."

She paled but nodded and he jumped, managing to cut down the nearest gunman before he even hit the ground. His lip curled at the uniform. People's Army. Rebels.

Gritting his teeth, Sephiroth leapt into the fray. Soldiers reeking of blood and alcohol rallied around him, snapping to his order as he deflected bullets and energy bolts alike. Other soldiers lay on the ground, some half dressed from a night of celebration.

Fire burned tight and hot in his chest as word of his presence spread through the enemy. Let them come.

Masamune was thirsty.

?

"We got the orders yesterday." The commander of the base, a haggard man named Colonel Blaik, stood as straight as he could as he reported. "I announced it at dinner and the night just went from there. We never even heard them coming."

Sephiroth nodded and wiped some blood off his cheek.

"Secure the perimeter," he said. "All available men to help with evac. The transport will be here in a few minutes."

"Yes, sir. General…"

He leveled a look at the older man.

"You did what you could. I'll want a written report later."

"Sir." Blaik hurried off to organize the men and Sephiroth went to the communications building. Men scurried back and forth around him, some breaking down the base, others rushing to help the wounded. Yanna was on her knees, elbow deep in blood as she tended a soldier's leg. She called for one of the medics with the sharp, clipped voice of one used to obedience.

Of course. She was a healing shaman. If nothing else, she would know basic field medicine.

The nurses and coremen only acted surprised for a minute, a slight pause when they came to take away the solider, then the shaman ran to the next body.

"Sir!" A young third hurried up and saluted. "HQ online, sir."

Sephiroth turned away. He wasn't needed here.

?

His report was brief, terse, and, within a couple hours, the soldiers were ready for evacuation. Their quick reactions did nothing to quell the nausea but he didn't have time to feel guilt.

"You."

A passing soldier snapped to attention.

"The woman from the transport. Where is she?"

"She's…I think she's in the infirmary, sir."

"Thank you." Sephiroth stalked off to the infirmary, his fists clenching. He knew he shouldn't have brought a civilian. He should have prepared for something like this. Why would the People's Army let them go so easily? Stupid rebels. They couldn't be satisfied with the fact that Shinra was leaving them alone. No, now they had to wreak vengeance on soldiers during what had officially become peace time.

Bastards.

"General Sephiroth." A thin, half-Wutaian man with an efficient manner and a calming smile approached as he entered the infirmary.

"Dr. Hanata. Situation?"

"In hand. The major surgeries are done, everyone's stable. As soon as Ms. Yanna is done with the bodies, we'll start loading."

"Excuse me?"

That smile crossed Hanata's face and he led him to the morgue, stopping just outside the doors. Inside, Yanna moved methodically around the body of one of the fallen, her hands gentle but firm as she bathed him. After a moment, she set down the sprayer and pawed at a wound on the boy's shoulder. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. The wound was…closing…

"She's been at this since we moved the boys into surgery," Hanata said. "She didn't want to get in the way so she asked if she could clean them."

Yanna picked up a towel and started patting the body dry. Her lips moved as she did so, a prayer perhaps.

"I don't know how," Hanata said, walking around the corner. "But she's…fixing them." He lifted the sheet off a gurney to reveal the pallid face of a boy no older than Zack. "This one was missing an eye when he came in. It's still missing, of course, but there was a gash across his face. You could see straight through to his cheekbone."

Not anymore.

Sephiroth took a deep breath, regretted it, and nodded.

"Make sure she gets on the transport safely," he said.

"Yes, Gen—"

A nurse slid around the corner.

"Sir! The rebels are back!"

"What?!" He was already hurrying out the door with Masamune. Outside, he could hear someone on a bull horn yelling from beyond the gate.

"Great General Sephiroth," the man yelled. "Come out with your hands up!"

"Clever," Hinata muttered.

"It's your choice, General. Either you come out or we come in."

"Evacuate them," Sephiroth snapped. "Now!"

Soldiers scrambled to obey as he approached the gate. At his nod, the doors opened and he saw the caravan of trucks and jeeps lined up outside, filled with men wielding automatic rifles. In the front truck, a thick man stood with the bullhorn.

"What'll it be, General?" he asked.

"You honestly think I'll come with you, after you butchered my men."

"Actually, yeah." The man snapped his fingers and the cover fell off one of the jeeps to reveal a whirring anti-aircraft gun slowly spinning to face the base.

"You come with us," the man said. "Or you watch us blast your soldiers out of the sky."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, seething. Really. This insignificant piece of—

"And we'll take her too."

He whirled to see Yanna just past the gate.

"She has nothing to do with this," Sephiroth said tightly. "She doesn't even work for Shinra."

Not a lie. Technically, she was just a consultant.

But Bullhorn just smirked and snapped his fingers. Four men jumped out of a truck and approached, guns leveled at his chest. Behind them, other men started feeding rounds into the anti-aircraft gun.

"Fine," he said through gritted teeth. "I'll come with you."

Bullhorn said something in Wutaian and the men swarmed him. Other men hurried to Yanna, making the soldiers cluster around her.

"Stand down!"

The soldiers paused, confused, but Yanna touched the arm of the closest and walked to Sephiroth. One of the rebels grabbed her arm and suddenly the fool was screaming and writhing on the ground.

"_Don't touch her_." He raised his gaze to see Blaik, one of the men who had rushed to Yanna. "Get them home."

"Sir."

His stomach tightening, Sephiroth gripped her arm and walked to the truck with Bullhorn. The Wutaian man leered at Yanna, earning a swift glare from Sephiroth, and they started driving. The general listened for long, torturous moments, straining for the sound of engines failing, bulkheads snapping under the pressure of exploding tanks.

It never came.

He closed his eyes briefly in relief then turned. Yanna sat next to him, staring straight ahead.

"It was them," she muttered. "They killed them."

"Yes. There were more than I thought."

When Yanna looked at him, her eyes were hard and her hand clasped his forearm with a strength he didn't expect.

"Stay with me," he said. "Do you understand?"

She nodded and turned back to look out the windshield. He could smell fear on her, a faint mix of sweat and death, and her heart beat loudly in her chest. Despite that, she breathed evenly and the hand on his arm trembled with finely controlled energy.

He covered her hand with his own.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Inside!"

Bullhorn and his men ushered them into a concrete compound dotted with other vehicles and men armed with automatic rifles. Towers at various points bore floodlights and snipers while massive armory trucks sat in strategic corners around the base. All of the guns looked worn, smelling of smoke and gun oil, but they were solid, as was the body armor most of the men boasted. Expensive for rebels, certainly too nice for the People's Army. That little ragtag group had been nipping at imperial heels for years, dressed in mismatched scraps they pulled from their grandfather's closets.

No, this was well-organized, stocked. _Funded_.

One of the men made the mistake of trying to grab Sephiroth's arm as they went deeper into one of the larger buildings. He broke his forearm without ever dropping Yanna's hand.

Men and, surprisingly, women, gave trail, shooting baleful looks at them both. These weren't just disgruntled farmers or sanctimonious students that thought they knew what the "real" Wutai was. From the look of the contemptuous look of a nearby guard, these people hated him. Him, personally and not just because of his rank, though his connection to Shinra probably didn't help.

Sephiroth braced for some fool overcome with righteous fury to rush them but nothing happened. Which meant that while they hated him, clearly wished him dead in the most painful way, they believed too strongly in their cause to do something stupid.

How…inconvenient.

"In there." Bullhorn pointed to a cell with a wooden door with a small barred window at the top. The general walked in, pulling Yanna behind him, and the door thudded solidly at their backs.

"No windows," the shaman murmured.

"Smart."

The ten-by-ten cell boasted only one fluorescent bulb set in a ceramic bowl in the ceiling and plastered concrete walls. His head brushed the ceiling and he sat down in the far corner, watching the door.

"What happens now?" Yanna asked. "Are they going to question us?"

"Most likely." He watched her fold her arms and pace, her booted feet scuffing on

the concrete floor. She'd worn a skirt and poncho, traditional Kalani attire for what she surely expected to be an easy trip, but now mud had already started to stain the hem and large dark blotches of something, anything from mud, blood, oil, or any combination of the three, stained her knees.

Despite that, she was still very obviously a woman.

"Shiushan."

"Hmm?" She started running her hands over the walls.

"They brought you to use as leverage," he said. "They have to keep you relatively safe to use against me but that doesn't mean they won't try to hurt you. There are…disturbing accounts of what happens to female prisoners."

Yanna stopped, looked at him in alarm.

"Because they're female?" she asked.

"Yes."

Pursing her lips, the shaman nodded and went back to inspecting the walls.

"I can't promise to bring you through this unharmed," he said. "But I will get you home alive."

She stared at a spot on the wall then took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow in surprise. Really? That was it? He just told her she might get raped and tortured, and he may or may not be able to do anything. All he got was an 'okay'? He knew the Kalani was a warrior culture but was violence against women so common as for her to merely shrug and keep going? He hoped, for her sake, that wasn't the case.

"Are they going to use us as hostages?" she asked. "I've heard of that happening when a group wants something but why just you? Why not just take the base?"

"They know they can't stand up to an entire unit of trained Soldiers, no matter their condition. And they can't stand up to me physically. But they can control us other ways and, yes, they may use us as hostages. They certainly have the world's attention, at least. What they use the platform for is…uncertain."

"You have ideas."

"I do."

"Do any of those ideas have them letting us go?"

Observant woman.

"No. We'll have to escape on our own."

Yanna nodded and sat a couple feet away.

"I'm going to nap while I can. Wake me if you need something."

"Shiushan." Sephiroth reached into his boot. "You know how to handle a knife, I assume."

"Of course. I'm Kalani."

He discreetly handed her his kabar and she tucked it under her poncho.

"I'll want it back later."

?

Nothing happened for the next few hours, no doubt on purpose. Then keys jangled in the door. Yanna jerked awake, crouched, and Sephiroth stood as Bullhorn walked in.

"The prince wants to see you," he said.

"Prince." He very highly doubted that. But his hesitation angered Bullhorn and he pointed his gun at Yanna.

"Now!"

Sephiroth glanced sideways at her then obeyed and Bullhorn led him down the hall to a larger room with recording and communications equipment. A young man with messy hair stood behind a metal chair in the middle of the room. His lips pulled in a mirthless smile.

"General Sephiroth," he said.

Gunmen lined the room with automatic rifles, more lined the catwalk above. Red laser lights clustered on his chest and a few of the men approached with guns drawn.

"Take his coat."

Men ripped off his coat, armor, sword, and belt, then cuffed his hands behind his back and forced him to his knees to shackle his ankles. The young man poured a bucketful of water on the floor and picked up a cattle prod, waving it over the puddle.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked, leaning back against one of the communications consoles.

"A spoiled brat playing 'king.'"

The young man punched him in the jaw.

"Such arrogance. This, situations like this, is why you need to die. But first, you are going to tell me the launch sequences for Shinra's nuclear weapons and Sister Ray cannon."

"Pointless. You must know I won't volunteer such information and I am trained to resist every interrogation technique on the planet."

The young man's eyes narrowed in a familiar manner.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, I do know that. I also know you are loyal. Or as loyal as a mongrel can be. But everyone has a breaking point. And we will find yours."

Finally it registered where he had seen this brat before.

"And General Watanabe would approve of this?"

Another punch.

"My father was a brilliant man!" The boy screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. "You have no right to even speak his name!" He had the men haul a trough of water in front of him. "Do it!"

Someone grabbed his hair, forced him down into the water as the boy stuck the cattle prod in the trough. Sephiroth clenched his jaw, jerking under the electricity, even as the boy cackled and crowed.

"Now."

The hand pulled him out of the water.

"Let's try this again."

?

"I don't care how you do it! I want eyes on everything. Every truck, jeep, transport, four-door-sedan and dumpling cart. He's six-four with white hair. He can't have just disappeared!"

Genesis glared at them all, not bothering to hide his temper, and watched as they scrambled to find their missing general. Blaik had radioed the situation three hours ago, before the transport had even left Wutaian airspace. That last unit would arrive by the end of the day but, in the meantime, Shinra was on red alert. Every base from here to Icicle Inn had leapt to arms. They would go to war if they had to. They would march and bust the empire wide open if it came to it, and the base commanders had their hands full keeping the men from doing just that.

The red general grit his teeth, anxiety gnawing at his gut. It wasn't that Sephiroth was a prisoner. It didn't happen often but it wasn't so strange for a soldier to get on the wrong end of a gun. All of their men, both regular army and Soldier—though there wasn't much difference anymore—knew how to conduct themselves in hostile situations until help arrived, and how to act if they knew help wasn't coming. Most of the training curriculum had been written by Sephiroth himself.

No, it wasn't that he'd been caught. It was _how_ he'd been caught. Those bastards knew he would do anything for his men. An ironic idea considering most of the People's Army thought he was a demon from the Ninth Hell but that wasn't the point.

Yanna was the point.

On his own, Sephiroth could break out easily, level whatever fort they thought was strong enough to hold him. He had no trouble breaking their honor code if it meant saving the most amount of lives possible. That's why he was a six-star general. He could make the hard decisions. But with the shaman? They might as well have tied his hands behind his back and pushed him off a cliff. Whatever his reticence about interaction with the woman, he wouldn't risk her life for any advantage. She was a civilian and, more than that, she had been an integral part in breaking the bond with Jenova. He was indebted to her. They all were.

Genesis' phone rang and he flipped it open.

"General Rhapsodos."

"You're gonna want to see this, Gen," Angeal said. "Lazard's office."

"Right." He turned to the spectacled faces at the computer monitors. "I want to know the _instant_ you find something. Is that understood?"

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

Genesis nodded and stalked up to Lazard's office on the next floor. Angeal and the director sat in front of the plasma screen mounted on the wall.

"What did you find?" Genesis asked.

"They sent us a dvd." Lazard clicked his remote and the pale, slanted face of a young man came on the screen. He was dressed in the brown dress uniform of decades past and the flag of his grandfather's Wutai hung behind him. Genesis could just see the outline of gunmen on the edge of the screen.

"Too much make-up," he said.

"Gen."

_"Greetings, Shinra."_

Not the grating voice of consummate villain. Sadly, the man actually sounded cultured.

"_As your base commander has informed you, General Sephiroth is our prisoner. From this moment on, he is considered a prisoner of war. Any action to free him will be met with appropriate ferocity."_

"You think he knows what any of those words mean?" Genesis said.

"Are you kidding?" Angeal asked. "He's not even old enough to shave."

_"As representative of the People's Army of the One True Empire and rightful heir to the Dragon Throne, I demand retribution on behalf of the Wutaian nation. The war is not over. The war can never be over as long as the colossal threat of Shinra exists. _

_ "Rufus Shinra will surrender all lands and holdings of the Shinra Electric Power Company by midnight, March 25__th__. The Great Usurper will step down from the Dragon Throne and take his hellspawn with him. Failure to do either will be seen as an act of war and Wutaian patriots all over the world will rise up and take their rightful place in legend. Millions will die. Including your Great General."_

Silence reigned for a full minute. Shock mostly, though Genesis knew his stemmed from the sheer audacity of the little snit.

"We don't negotiate with terrorists," Angeal said.

"This isn't terrorism," Lazard said. "This is a civil war. That is Hatohori Watanabe, sixty-third in line for the Wutaian throne."

"I thought he looked familiar." Genesis fought the urge to spit at the television. "Sir, I'll go to Wutai and set up a task force from within the capital. Odds are assassination attempts have already started."

"Go. General Hewley, coordinate defense measures and any evacuation procedures you deem necessary. Call in the bomb squads, the tac teams, everyone. I don't like that 'all over the world' line. General Rhapsodos, I want constant updates on your progress. President Shinra is contacting the Emperor right now. He expects one of you at the capital within the next two days."

"Sir!" The two generals saluted and walked out to their respective assignments.

"He didn't mention Yanna," Angeal said quietly.

Genesis pursed his lips.

"I'll call you when I land."

?

Yanna jerked awake at the sound of loud voices outside their cell. She thought it might have been an hour or so since they took Sephiroth but she couldn't be sure. The sun felt very far away here and the cold chill of spring storms was starting to seep through the concrete.

A key jammed into the lock. She eased into a crouch, bringing the kabar to bear under her poncho. Five men entered, none of them wearing body armor. She stayed low and tried to find their weapons. Two had their rifles. One of those and two others had batons on their hips. The last had nothing but she liked his look the least. He said something in Wutaian, guttural, and she didn't need to understand to know what he meant. The other four just snickered and looked at her, grinning.

As one, they pounced. Yanna slashed one of the gunmen with the knife. He screamed, blood pouring from his stomach, and staggered back. One of the others punched her. Someone grabbed the knife and she was on the ground. Hands grabbed at her limbs, forced her legs apart. She thrashed in panic, got a foot loose and kicked as hard as she could. Her heel connected with something that crunched then someone wrenched her arm. She gasped in pain. Grubby fingers pulled at her skirt. She twisted, gagging at the combined stench of the beasts. One of them yelled and they made to turn her on her stomach. She couldn't see their eyes, didn't dare hunt, but the stench grew stronger as her face came too close to bare flesh.

Snarling, she bit the man. He screamed, punched her. The others grabbed for her and blood poured down her face and neck. At last, one of them kicked her in the stomach and she gasped, just enough for them to slam her to the concrete. More blows rained down and it was all she could do to curl around her ribs.

Then it stopped. She could dimly hear a new, different voice yelling in Wutaian. Boots shuffled on the ground. There were protests, then a sharp slap and more yelling. This time it sounded frantic, that stressed, 'the world was falling apart' tone she heard at weddings where everything went wrong. Yanna held her breath. Someone nudged her leg. She didn't move.

After a few seconds, and a more controlled—if still angry—voice ushered them all out of the cell. The door swung shut with such a welcome thud she almost cried. She tried a breath then really did cry at the agony that pierced her face. Bastards broke her nose! Swallowing, Yanna carefully crawled out of sight of the door and sat up against the wall. Her legs hurt, bone bruises, and she probably had cracked rib or two. She rubbed her forearm, gagging on the blood pouring from her nose. The man had twisted her arm, badly, but it wasn't broken. She sent up quick thanks for that and rubbed the tendons back into place. Just her nose. Wolf, she hadn't broken her nose in years. Not since baby Koda had a tantrum and threw his head back into her face. This was going to hurt.

Carefully, the shaman felt through the gore to where her nose was and where it should be.

_One. Two._

She yanked her nose down and over. Black spots swam in her eyes and she vomited a little. Great _Wolf_, that hurt. Oh. Wow, Genesis owed her so much chocolate for this.

Another breath. It wasn't as bad. Yanna licked her lips and gently, slowly, pulled the flesh and cartilage back together. The effort left her dizzy and she had to stop several times but, after a few, long minutes, it was over. She made to wipe her face with her poncho but grimaced when she saw the gore on the wool. She took it off and instead wiped her face on her skirt.

There. Much better.

Suddenly the light dimmed, buzzing, then brightened again. She frowned. It had done that a lot lately.

_Sephiroth_.

She settled herself and, with one last prayer, banged on the door. It took a second but the door opened and a bewildered rebel came in. She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled. Dark, gangrenous lines crept up her arm until the man hit his knees and flopped over on his side. Yanna threw up black sludge then quickly searched the man. He had a rifle but she had no idea how to use it, would probably hurt herself trying, so she took his radio and his baton. The lights dimmed again.

Setting her jaw, Yanna turned the volume of the radio down and left the cell.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

He couldn't be sure how much time had passed or how much water he'd swallowed, but when the rebels finally decided to take him back to the cell, Sephiroth had bitten through his tongue. He hadn't told them anything, hadn't screamed. Giving them such satisfaction was unacceptable. Still, it was only through sheer will that he could walk under his own power.

"In." One of the six guards escorting him opened the door. The smell of cold copper flooded his senses. His eyes flew open.

"Where is she?" he demanded. Blood pooled on the concrete in random splotches, connected by drips and trails, footprints too large to be a woman's. Her poncho lay crumpled in blood, its fringe stuck in some of the pools next to clumps of black hair and sludge. A man's body lay in a heap right in front of the door.

Fire erupted in his chest and he whirled.

"_Where is she?_"

The guards pounced on him. Something hit his head. He staggered and they used that second to dry-stun him, dragging him down the hall. More rebels rushed to help, his half-conscious struggling still enough to break bone. More shocks. More desperate blows to the head. He fought through it all but he was rapidly losing and they all knew it.

At last, they shoved him into a different cell. Someone bound his eyes. Another gagged him while still more grabbed his arms and legs. Metal scraped, chains, right before heavy manacles clasped his wrists and ankles. They forced him to his knees, bent him forward, and yanked his arms behind him.

"Higher." That insolent _brat_. "Bind his arms higher."

More chains were wrapped up his elbows and forearms. The gag tightened. Then he felt a hand jerk his head back and cold steel clamped around his neck.

_Needles dug into his arms. Blades sank into his flesh. They dug around, pulled nerves out with tweezers, poured acid into open wounds—_

"We were going to be nice," the brat whispered. Sephiroth strained towards the voice, imagining the sick crack of bones and cartilage under his hands.

"We were going to send her back with your head, unharmed. But it's too late for

that now. She fought us."

Sephiroth jerked his head. No. No, not like this. Oh goddess, what happened to her? If she fought, if they decided to try and break her to get the answers they needed…He knew she would be in danger but he didn't think—they still needed the access codes, still needed him to cooperate.

"Pleasant dreams, General."

The bastard smacked his face a couple times then he heard the room empty, leaving him to the sound of his harsh breaths echoing against the walls. Dead. Yanna was—no. It was just as plausible for her to be hurt or moved and they were just pulling one over on him. But there was so much blood…

His throat tightened and he forced himself to breathe. If she was alive, he would find her and break out of this hellhole. If not…He focused on the pain in his tongue, swallowed what blood hadn't clotted, and started testing the strength of the chains.

?

Sephiroth jerked back to awareness when a massive explosion rocked the compound. He tilted his head, listening. Panicked yells and wild alarms rang out through the halls.

"What the—" One of the guards at his door cocked his automatic.

"All units to the armory," crackled the radio.

"Everyone?" The guard asked.

"You go," the other guard said. "I'll stay here. Hurry!"

Thumping boots retreated and Sephiroth threw himself against the chains. Slowly, too slowly, the links holding him down started to bend. Flexing his hands, he started working his arms against the metal straps.

_Come on, come on, come on_.

"Hey!" The remaining guard brought his gun up to bear. "Hey, stop!"

Bullets ricocheted, something hit the ground. The guard walked away. A second later, there was a sick gurgle and something much bigger fell.

"Sephiroth?"

He slumped forward and didn't bother to sit up when the heavy door swung open. Slender fingers pulled off the blindfold and he blinked at the harsh light.

"Are you okay?" Yanna hastily undid the gag. Bruises marred her neck and wrists, one eye was almost swollen shut, her nose bled, and her lip was busted. He let the rage build, taking refuge in the fire.

"What happened?"

"They hit me," she said, a ring of keys rattling in her hands. She fumbled only a second before opening the dozen or so locks surrounding him.

"I managed to stab one but they took your knife. I'm sorry. I'll pay for it."

"Nevermind."

She freed his arms and he immediately ripped off the metal collar.

"Are you hurt otherwise?" he asked.

"No. I found your sword but I can't find the key to the room."

Sephiroth got to his feet.

"I don't need keys."

?

He swept through like a storm. Graceful, fluid, deadly, the silver demon never stopped, cutting down rebels Yanna hadn't even seen. It didn't matter that he was using scavenged weapons, didn't matter that he was barefoot in a compound he barely knew. Rebels fell to the rhythm of his strikes, littering their path with bodies that would not get up again. Yanna watched, breathless, as he maneuvered on need alone, dancing that delicate balance of defense and attack.

It was beautiful. So much so, Yanna nearly missed their turn.

"Left up ahead," she yelled. He barely acknowledged her, didn't need to, as he shot a rebel off a balcony and ushered her down the hall.

"His office," he sneered. "Of course."

Sephiroth broke the lock with one swift yank and shouldered open the door.

"Do you know where my belt is?" he asked.

"Yeah, over here." Yanna hurried to a cabinet and drew out his materia-studded belt and his coat while he stalked to the desk and quickly scanned the maps on top.

"Taking it with us?" she said, offering a bag.

"No need." He put on his belt and coat then grabbed Masamune. "Let's go."

The storm broke again, this time with the flash of materia. Yanna ran to keep up, a loud, hasty counterpoint to his calm stride. The rebels grew more frenzied and fired everything they had at the two making their way to the garage.

"You can drive?" he asked.

"Yeah."

Masamune flashed, deflecting what bullets dared, and the engine roared to life. A quick glance back showed rebels piling into the other vehicles.

"Quickly, Shiushan."

Clenching her jaw, Yanna stomped on the gas and they rumbled out of the compound. Sephiroth stood next to her, barely noticing the way the jeep flew over rocks and tree roots.

"Which way do I go?" she yelled over the wind.

"North, if you can."

"If I can't?" She yelped at a bullet hitting the sideview mirror.

"Huh." Energy hummed and she saw fireballs fly towards the rebels. The jeeps exploded in a hail of seared metal and pained screams.

"Bastards were actually trained," Sephiroth said, climbing into the passenger seat. "Are you hurt?"

"N-no."

"You can slow down."

"Right." She gave a jerky nod.

"Slow _down_, Shiushan."

The shaman took a deep breath and eased up on the gas.

"You've never been in a firefight, have you?" he asked.

"No, I've been in a firefight. As in a fight with _fire_. Sticks or branches with fire on the end of them or bowls with burning coals or even flaming swords or-or something. Not bombs and guns and—"

"Watch the tree."

"I got it!" She exhaled sharply. "Sorry."

"Stop the jeep."

"What?"

"_Stop_."

It took a few hundred yards for her to slow the jeep down enough to stop without flipping but she managed and let her forehead rest on the wheel.

"Shiushan."

She screamed, jumping at the general standing next to her with the driver's door open.

"H-how did you—"

"You can let go now." He forcibly pried her white-knuckled hands from the steering wheel. "Look at me."

She obeyed and followed his gloved finger as he moved it across his face.

"Any dizziness?" he asked.

"A little. We should get moving, General. They're bound to have—"

"Close your eyes." He held up his hand and a soft, green glow enveloped the leather. Yanna closed her eyes, sighing as gentle warmth crept over her skin. Bruises vanished, the persistent ache in her nose faded, and the cut in her lip healed with a weird itch that made her chew on it.

"Mmm, thank you." She smiled then frowned when Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. He grabbed the back of her neck, tilting her head back.

"What did they do?" Strong fingers touched her jaw, her cheek, the edge of her mouth. They came away with blood and she blushed, turning out of his grip.

"It's not mine," she said.

"What?"

"W-when they took away your knife, I couldn't move. They were holding my arms and legs down and tried to... so…I guess I bit one of them. I don't know which one."

"Bit him. Where?"

"In the neck, I think."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at her, the corner of his lips twitching a little.

"You ripped some fool's throat out with your teeth?"

Yanna looked down at her hands.

"I was scared."

The general pulled away, motioning her out of the jeep.

"Remind me never to anger you," he said. His glove glowed again, this time for himself, and he shook out his hair. "They'll have alerted the other bases by now. It would be better if we continued on foot and avoided the main roads."

"Other bases?" She fell into step on his right. "You mean, there are more?"

"Of course."

"You're not surprised."

"No." He glanced at her through his bangs. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm okay." She smiled a little, shrugged. "I'm sorry I couldn't get to you sooner."

"They said they killed you for fighting back."

"Please. I'm Kalani." Swallowing the awkward feeling in her gut, Yanna turned to look out at the forest. Massive trees rose from thick, waist-high underbrush, and she tightened her halter top and skirt.

"Do you know where we're going?" she asked.

"There should be a base on the other side of these mountains. I know the man that runs it, an imperial colonel from the war."

"And you trust him?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Another glance, this one slightly wary.

"I set a hard pace," he said.

"I live outside, General. I can keep up."

The look he gave her very clearly said 'we'll see' and he strode forward into the darkening forest.

?

To her credit, she did keep up for a fair distance but, as night closed in, she started hesitating. Her unenhanced eyes were wide and unseeing in the dark and he made a point of stepping a little harder, brushing plants a little louder. She adjusted as necessary, always on his right.

Not once did she suggest stopping for the night, though he could hear her labored breathing and heavy footfalls. She would need water soon, food, if he could get it. And a lean-to wouldn't be too hard to build but he could taste the storm in the air. There was no real way to hide from rain that blew sideways.

At length, the ground started falling away and he could just make out the rush of running water. He started hiking towards the noise.

"A river?" she asked. He grimaced at how loud her voice was.

"That's what it sounds like. Be careful."

"Yes, General."

They trudged on. Yanna stumbled a couple times, wide yawns stretching her jaws.

"We'll rest up ahead," he said quietly.

"Okay."

Presently, they came upon a decent sized river, wide enough for good fishing, rocky enough for bad swimming. Sephiroth led her further down the bank until he found a small cave.

"Here." He chanced a small fireball in his hand. "Inside."

Yanna crept passed him, nearly tripping on her skirt in her exhaustion, and climbed into the cave. He followed and sat down just as the sky opened. Sheets of chilling rain blurred their vision as they slid further into the cave. From the smell, whatever had lived here had long since gone. So much the better. He didn't enjoy the idea of dealing with snakebites too.

"Just in time," she murmured, staring out at the rain. "How long will we stay here?"

"Until the rain stops. No one goes out in the rain."

Yanna nodded and found a spot to curl up in with her back to the cave wall. He wasn't sure how she could get all 5'11'' of her in such a small space but she managed, even using some of her skirt as a blanket.

"Do you need me to do anything?" she asked.

"Sleep."

She yawned, wide and long like a big cat, and pillowed her head in her arm.

"Good night, General. I'm glad you're okay."

"Good night." Sephiroth shifted, placed himself between her and the cave entrance, and settled with Masamune across his chest. It would take at least until morning for any real search to be coordinated, longer for vehicles fighting the mud. They should have a good five or six hours before it got tricky.

A rueful smirk crossed his lips. "Tricky" meant something a little different to him than most people. He hoped she could cope. Of course, if the last few days had been any indication, she shouldn't have much of a problem.

The silver demon looked over at his charge, the now-clear caramel skin, the ebony hair marred with that one silver lock at her temple. Her face held no worry, despite what she'd gone through, despite being almost raped and having to kill at least two men. Despite his failure. Goddess, he could really use some—

He shook himself. It would do absolutely no good to dwell on what he could and could not have done back at the compound. So he folded his arms over Masamune, stared at the rain, and listened to the heartbeat that hadn't stopped.

?

"Shiushan."

Yanna took a deep breath and blinked at the early morning light.

"Time to go," said the General. She nodded and stretched some of the floor out of her back and neck while he climbed out of the cave. He offered his hand to help her down.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Four or five."

"And you're awake." She narrowed her eyes at him though, with the haze of not-lucid, it didn't have a lot of power. "You're a morning person."

"No." He sounded amused but she couldn't see his face for his hair. "I just have to be awake in the morning. I apologize in advance if I'm short with you. I'm decaffeinated."

She chuckled and started walking towards the river. After a few steps, she paused, glanced back at him. He blinked then nodded. She walked the rest of the way to splash her face and rinse out her mouth. The water tasted metallic, like copper. She didn't want to think of what that meant so she just took a couple drinks.

"Where are we?" she asked. Sephiroth beckoned her away from the shore and started hiking north east.

"In the jungle," he replied. "Come."

"Have they started following us yet?"

"They started hours ago."

Just the casual way he said it made chills shoot down her spine. She hurried to keep up with him, glancing around at the trees.

"Are we safe?"

Sephiroth made a deep sound somewhere between a chuckle and a snort.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then we're safe."

She gave his back an exasperated look then settled into the easy, ground-eating wolf lope of her tribe with a quiet, travel song under her breath. Sephiroth glanced back only once before giving a short nod and picking up the pace.

They stopped when the sun was well on its way west. Yanna leaned heavily against a tree, her hair and top sticking to her skin, the cooling air burning her throat. Gaia, she was getting soft.

Sephiroth, meanwhile, looked perfect. Typical.

"We'll rest here," he said. "Gather what firewood you can."

"I can hunt."

"In a forest you know nothing about?"

Yanna glared at him but sighed and started hunting for dead wood. She heard him vanish into the dusk and tried to quell the indignation at not getting the food. He was right. She didn't know anything about Wutaian plants and wildlife. With her luck, she would probably pick something poisonous then she would be responsible for killing the single most powerful man in the world.

Suddenly, pain shot up her leg. She gasped, the wood falling to the ground. Another step and fire erupted in her shoulder. She hit her knees. Smoke filled her lungs. Gunfire ricocheted. She covered her ears, tears streaming down her face. Men, boys screamed through the darkness and she flinched when cannons erupted.

"—shan!"

Her ears rang. She curled over her knees.

_Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!_

"Yanna!" Strong hands hauled her to her feet.

"Seph—" She tried to focus, tried to steady herself in the onslaught of pain and death. Then he blinked and she locked onto his eyes. Emerald fire flooded her mouth, her lungs, burning away the noise. She shuddered at the intensity but his grip tightened on her shoulders.

"Yanna, what happened?"

She took a breath but it felt like shattered glass.

"Wha-what is this place?"

His eyes darkened and her chest buckled. She couldn't breathe, couldn't move. She could feel the fury in his touch, the disgust. Her mouth worked to apologize for whatever she'd done wrong, anything to make that anger go away.

"This is Fumikawa," he said. His voice rumbled in the pit of her stomach as he carefully let go of her arms.

"This was the culmination of a thousand bad decisions." The General released her from the fire, looking out at the large, barren clearing. Only a few hardy shrubs grew here, fewer animals dared to scurry. She sobbed at the feel of blood in the land, shifted her weight to get her feet off the ground.

"When I was deployed to Wutai, both sides had degenerated into a kill-or-be-killed mentality. There was nothing to do but end it." He nodded in the vague direction of the moon. "That's why they call me the Demon. That's why they hate me."

"You—"

"I did what was necessary to get as many of my men home as possible."

She flinched and stared at the ground. A second later, his boot stepped into her field of vision and she felt his warmth at her side.

"Come." His voice was much softer, if still taut with memories. "We should go."

Yanna let him lead her out of the clearing, his hand on her back to force her in front of him. She shivered, rubbed her arms, then wiped her eyes and tried to collect herself.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Don't apologize." He bent to pick up the firewood she'd dropped.

"General—"

"Go."

Flushing with embarrassment, Yanna hurried to the spot he'd chosen for their camp. The small carcass of a bird lay off to the side and she went to dress it as best she could.

"You can make the fire?" she asked.

He summoned a small flame from the materia.

"I think so."

Soon the pile of wood crackled nicely under the roasting bird. Yanna sat, scraping the blood and fat out from under her nails, and stared at the fire.

"I didn't mean to frighten you." Sephiroth glanced at her from across the bird.

"I know." She tried a smile. "It was just a lot all at once."

"You saw it."

"Yes. Well, just pieces, really. Echoes. It's not like a spirit-dream. I can just…places with a lot of emotion, a lot of history like that, leave traces. It's like when you walk into a house and it feels wrong, and you have no idea that there was a murder there. You can feel it. Pain and anger are some of the strongest emotions so they linger the longest. And a place where a lot of people died…" She shrugged and smoothed her skirt. "There's a reason people think shaman are weird."

"It must be difficult."

"Sometimes. But if I don't do it, who else will?"

Sephiroth tilted his head. Somehow, that motion and the reflection of flames in his eyes made his gaze seem less intense.

"It's painful," he said. "Feeling death."

She waved her hand slightly.

"Part of the job."

"Kalani don't bury their dead."

"No." She frowned at the sudden shift. "Why?"

"We do. Part of the funeral is what they call an 'open casket.' The casket lid is left up so family members can say 'good-bye' to the dead before they're buried." His lips tightened. "War is…not kind to such a tradition. What you did for the men means a lot."

"The…Oh! Oh, I couldn't just leave them like that. I didn't offend you, did I? I didn't cast any spells or anything, nothing like in the rumors. I was just praying for their families. And the surgeons were working so hard on the others, I didn't want to be useless—"

"Shiushan." His eyelids lowered just enough to look gently amused. "You've done a great service to me and my men. I am in your debt."

Yanna opened her mouth but nothing came. Glancing down, she took a small stick and started poking the bird.

"It should be ready soon," she said. "Which piece do you want?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sephiroth crept through the underbrush on silent feet. The meal had been…uneasy. He didn't know how exactly she could feel such things but he had seen enough to know she wasn't faking any of it. She had power, could see things even a seasoned warrior struggled with, knew things instinct alone couldn't tell her. And her pain earlier, the agony that drove her to her knees when a vicious beating barely got a full sentence…that had been real. Too real.

The urge to apologize again grew stronger but he didn't know what to say. Sorry he ruined her life? Sorry he brought her into this nightmare? Sorry she knew what he was?

That last thought left a bad taste in his mouth. He had told Genesis and Angeal that this wouldn't work. One couldn't just make a relationship out of thin air, certainly not after knowing what he had done. He was a killer, born and otherwise. He didn't even have to think anymore. Over a thousand different ways of ending a man's life had become little more than muscle memory.

Shaking himself, the General focused on the task at hand. Rebel call signals had echoed throughout the day, itching just on the edge of his range, too close for comfort. He had led them on a rather roundabout trail, avoiding outposts and villages alike, but he couldn't do so forever. The closer they came to the Northern mountain range, the more populated the area would be for the volcanic soil. And everyone would be looking for them, either for the Empire, the rebels, or just vengeance seeking peasants that wanted his head on their wall. Yanna would be in danger. It was unavoidable. But if he could reduce the risk…

The general found the nearest hunting party within the hour. They were on the right trail, no doubt following them from the river despite his caution. If he were traveling alone, he would be a ghost. No one save Genesis and Angeal would be able to find him. But with a civilian, well. He shifted his grip on Masamune. There were other ways to secure their escape.

When he returned, the fire had been smothered and the area around it swept with branches. Yanna was nowhere to be seen. Fighting the surge of panic, Sephiroth edged into the camp, Masamune ready in his hand.

"Up here." Yanna waved at him from a spot in one of the larger trees a few feet away from the fire. "I heard something move. You okay?"

"Fine."

She didn't ask what he did or if he found anything and he didn't offer.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh, sure." She carefully climbed down the tree but her skirt caught on one of the branches, making her squeal. He made a point not to look at her bare legs as she struggled.

"Shiushan?"

She swore in Kalani and yanked, ripping the edge of her skirt. A strangled yelp escaped her as she fell and he rushed over to catch her.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks." She pushed him away, her face flushing. Once she had some distance, she quickly smoothed her tattered skirt and brushed her hair back.

"Lead on, General."

He strode past her and they fell into the boring, monotonous routine of the last two days. After a while, she predictably started to slow.

"General?"

Right. He had fallen back to being a ghost and the canopy was too thick here for moonlight. Reaching back, he took her hand and placed it on Masamune's sheath.

"Thanks," she sighed. "General?"

"Yes?"

"What happens when we get to the base?"

"Ideally, we would return to the capital and you would return to New Midgar."

"What about you?"

"I'll follow."

There was a pause.

"You're going after them." She stopped walking and he looked back. Her dark eyes were wide, unfocused in the dark, but her grip on the sheath was solid.

"Yes," he said.

"And you're going to kill them."

It wasn't a question. Her jaw tightened and she held perfectly still, trusting that he was still there, that he would respond. The simple faith of it made his chest ache.

"Yes," he said.

"All of them."

"Yes."

Yanna nodded and tension he hadn't noticed eased out of her shoulders.

"Can you promise you'll come back?"

He blinked.

"That's all you would ask. I am indebted to you, as a man and as General of the Armies. I put your life and virtue in danger and all you would ask for is my return."

"What else could I ask for, General? I did my job. You're doing yours. I don't expect anything else, no matter what Gen and Angeal say. Can you promise you'll come back?"

No expectations. He wished he could believe her.

Without a word, Sephiroth turned and started walking again. She hesitated for only a moment before he heard the soft rustle of her steps behind him. A quiet song met his ears, presumably another of the Kalani travel songs, and he let the melody drift into background noise. They still had a long way to go.

?

At dawn, they rested, Sephiroth disappearing yet again. Yanna had a feeling he did so even when she slept but she didn't question it any more than she questioned how he suddenly had a canteen of fresh water or radar map. They were alive and it was enough that he was keeping the enemy at bay. She just wished she could do more.

They didn't talk at all during the break or as they started up the mountain. She tried to keep up the travel songs but the terrain didn't allow for any kind of rhythm and her skirt kept getting in the way. At last she growled and ripped the bottom half of the bedraggled thing completely off. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at her but she just stared back, wrapping the fabric around her shoulders, and they continued.

For hours, they hiked. She swallowed a groan at almost every step. Gaia, but she had grown soft living in the city. That first day wasn't so bad, especially with the adrenaline. But now it felt like her lungs and side were on fire.

Sephiroth never faltered, much to her annoyance. Of course, she didn't really expect him to. The Great General was the epitome of strength and endurance. He probably worked harder than this when he went to the gym. The only hint that something might be wrong was the mud that stained the edges of his hair.

And, though it pained her to see it, the angry set of his jaw. Gone was the doubt from last night. There was no room for such hesitation today. They could see their goal more clearly than ever and that surely reminded him of why they were hiking in the first place. He was a pack leader so losing men was not a strange occurrence. But to lose them like this…His thoughts were a million miles away. She could see the distance in his eyes, the routes and plans for every possible option. When he looked at her at all. It occurred to her that she might have offended him last night but every time she opened her mouth to apologize, it froze in her throat. His back was an impenetrable wall and the look on his face when he turned made it very clear that he did not want to talk.

So she followed. Because that's what she owed him and there really wasn't any other choice. Still. She wished she could do _something_.

The pattern broke that evening. Peasants, exhausted from a day's work and edgy from watching for their sworn enemy, spotted them as they crept around one of the farms. Sephiroth swore in a language she didn't recognize and grabbed her wrist. They ran. It turned her stomach that such a strong warrior had to run because of her but he showed no sign of stopping or slowing down. Instead, he pushed her in front of him, placed his back squarely between her and the angry peasants. Flaming arrows embedded in the trees around them, lighting some of the drier brush. A few others had guns but their aim was poor. Or else, Sephiroth merely deflected them. She couldn't be sure.

Suddenly, artillery fire rent the air from the other direction. Yanna screamed, skid to a stop as bullets shot up the ground at her feet.

"This way." Sephiroth changed the course, pushing her up the steeper incline. "The base is up ahead, at the top of the ridge. Run as fast as you can."

She could hear shouts behind her, the ring of swords and the peculiar warping sound of materia. Swallowing, the shaman sent up a quick prayer, chanced a glance back. Sephiroth gave her a peeved look and shoved her again.

"_Go_."

She threw herself into the climb and soon the ground leveled onto a partially graveled road. Tears of relief threatened to choke her as she ran.

Someone up ahead yelled, an order maybe, or a curse. She looked up to see a gate with towers on either side and armed guards lining the top.

"Help!" She yelled. "Please!" She turned to check on Sephiroth but he was a good hundred yards back. Masamune flashed in the speckled light as armed peasants and what looked like militia closed in around him.

"Sephiroth!"

Trucks roared past her from the base and one guard grabbed her arm.

"Inside," he said with a heavy accent.

"But the General!"

"We help. Get inside!" The guard, a proper soldier from his olive green uniform and helmet, rushed her through the gate. The compound on the other side was alive with scrambling soldiers and crackling radios. One slightly older man strode through the chaos dressed in a brown uniform with a different hat. She didn't recognize the various pins and brooches but she assumed he was in charge.

The guard at her side said something in Wutaian to the older man, who nodded.

"Who are you?" he asked her.

"My name is Yanna. I'm a consultant from New Midgar. Please, General Sephiroth needs help."

An explosion beyond the gate made her flinch but the older man just chuckled.

"No, ma'am," he said, grinning under his moustache. "The General is just fine."

He motioned to the gate just as the trucks returned, with Sephiroth riding the tailgate of one of them. He hopped down immediately, looking only slightly disheveled, and Yanna ran to him.

"General?"

"I'm fine. Colonel Kamiya," he nodded to the older man. "General Rhapsodos has briefed you on the situation."

"He has. Come. Our radio room is this way."

Another nod.

"Come, Yanna." Sephiroth followed Kamiya into the base, the shamaness at his heels.

"We have rooms prepared," Kamiya said. "Food and medical treatment, as well."

"Thank you. The lady would like to see them."

"What?"

For the first time in hours, Sephiroth looked at her with something other than calculation.

"Go with the sergeant, Shiushan. They'll take care of you. I'm sure they even have hot water for a shower."

Oh, that sounded wonderful. Yanna smiled at the younger man she didn't notice before. 

"Um, thank you. And thank you, Colonel. General?"

"I'll find you."

Yanna nodded, uneasy, but Sephiroth was already walking away with the colonel.

"This way, ma'am." The sergeant led her through twisting hallways to what she'd heard called the visitor's quarters. Inside, she saw a single bed, a low table, and a chest.

"We don't have any women's clothes," he said. "But these should fit you." He pointed to neatly folded shirt and pants sitting on the bed. "The bathroom is through that door. Soap and towels are on the counter. We'll have food brought to you shortly."

"Thank you. Thank you so much. You have no idea how much we appreciate this."

"Of course, ma'am." With that, the young man bowed and left her to the wonderful treat of a hot shower.

?

"Seph! Goddess, it is so good to hear your voice!"

"Yours too, Gen."

"Seph, are you okay?" Angeal called. "And Yanna, how is she?"

"We're fine." Sephiroth adjusted the headset a little. "Did you talk to Blaik?"

"Yes, General." That was Lazard. "The People's Army."

"We damaged the compound we were taken to but I can't be sure how many others there are. They were well funded. Whoever is supporting them really thinks Watanabe's son has a chance."

"Yes, we received a tape of Watanabe informing us of their plans."

"The little prick needs better cameramen."

"Yes, Gen, because that's what he's worried about right now."

Sephiroth could hear Angeal rolling his eyes.

"Gen's at the capital already," the dark general said. "We conference-called him. They've been coordinating search teams for you but the coux has already started."

"Yeah, it's lots of fun over here," Genesis drawled. "There've been two assassination attempts on the Emperor already, and one on Yuffie."

"I suspected as much," Sephiroth said, rubbing his eyes. "I'll be there as soon as I can. In the meantime, it looks like they're going to hit the main river cities and I'm sure they've already hit the ports. Stay sharp."

"Yes, sir." Genesis clicked out of the call.

"We're doing what we can on this end, General," Lazard said. "The people are in an uproar, baying for blood left and right. The sooner we can get you back, the better."

"Understood, sir. Angeal, I'm sending the Shiushan ahead of me."

"You're going after them."

"Yes."

"This has to be sanctioned, General," said the director. "We can't have another international incident. Genesis has been coordinating a joint task force at the capital to weed out the traitors but that doesn't mean the Emperor will condone a manhunt."

"It doesn't mean he won't."

"At the very least, a Wutaian would have to go with you."

"There are plenty of people that suffered because of the People's Army, sir," Angeal said. "I'll call Gen back, make sure he's got somebody. Knowing him, he's probably got everything set up already. Take care of yourself, Seph. And say 'hi' to Yanna for us."

"Godspeed, General."

The line went dead and Sephiroth gave the headset back to the technician. Kamiya stood nearby.

"There is a train leaving for the capital tonight," he said. "Is that acceptable?"

"More than." Sephiroth stood and bowed. "I am in your debt, Colonel."

"Think nothing of it. Come. I will show you to your room."

"Thank you."

"I must say, I was intrigued when General Rhapsodos said you were traveling with a young lady."

"She is head of the land rehabilitation program. Through her work, crop yield in former Mako wastelands is at eighty-six percent."

"Ah, so that's her. I've heard of the program."

"Yes, she came with me to retrieve the last unit as a morale boost for the men, show them photos of home."

"Admirable. I am…very sorry to hear about what happened."

"Is this my room?"

"Yes, General. The lady's is right next door."

"Thank you."

It was as close to a dismissal as he could give to another country's officer but Kamiya took it for what it was and made his exit. Fresh clothes had been laid on the bed and he wished he could wear them, maybe even use the bed for a full night's sleep instead of a shelf, but they couldn't waste any more time. Genesis needed his help and a lot could happen while he was passed out here.

Sighing, Sephiroth climbed into the shower and just soaked under the hot water for a while. At least he could change his underwear and socks. Yanna's clothes were ruined so she would probably take whatever they offered.

He clamped down on that thought and just focused on scrubbing the jungle off of him. Thankfully, there hadn't been a lot of annoyingly cliché romance novel scenes but that didn't mean Genesis wouldn't hunt for them once this was all over. Honestly, that idiot…

Someone knocked on the door.

"Your dinner, General," they hollered, probably setting the tray down outside the door. Sephiroth didn't bother answering and climbed out of the shower. That was so much better. And the food, once he retrieved it, wasn't that bad. It was simple, rice, meat, some fruit, but it was filling and not poisoned so he figured it was a good day.

Next door, he could hear Yanna moving about, rummaging through the few cabinets the room had. He should probably go check on her. Then, if there was time, he could rest for an hour or so before the train left.

Finishing his food, Sephiroth shrugged on the shirt and pants they'd offered and knocked on her door. Yanna met him with a wide smile and wet hair.

"Hi," she said. "Come on in."

"Is everything satisfactory?" he asked, standing just inside the door.

"Yeah, I feel like a real person again. Did you talk to Gen and Angeal?"

"Yes, Genesis will meet us in the capital. Angeal said to tell you 'hello.'"

"Oh, well, 'hello' to him too." Yanna turned to the table with her half-eaten food tray. "Did you want to sit down?"

"No. I have work to do. Colonel Kamiya bought us train tickets for six tonight."

"Well, that's incredibly soon, isn't it? What do you need me to do?"

"Nothing." He could see the bags under her eyes, the heaviness in her movements. The shower had helped but she couldn't have slept very well these last few days. If he felt fatigued, he could only imagine how miserable she was.

"I'll come for you when it's time to leave," he said. "The food is acceptable?"

"Yes, thank you. Um…are you…okay?"

Sephiroth tilted his head.

"I'm fine. Rest while you can. I can't promise the train will be safe."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

That turned out to be a mild understatement. After he helped four gunmen off the speeding train and locked another in the lavatory, Sephiroth barricaded them in one of the middle train cars. The other passengers, what few there were, wisely kept to themselves after that.

"So is this weird for you?" Yanna asked from her place by the window. He glanced up from the notes he had made with Kamiya and Genesis.

"Not really."

"Wow, my life seems kinda boring then."

"There is nothing wrong with 'boring.'"

"How long until we reach the capital?"

"Two to three hours. Genesis is waiting for us at the Imperial Palace with a small unit. They'll accompany you back to New Midgar."

"Okay." She glanced down at her hands. "Thank you for…looking out for me."

"Thank you for not being annoying."

"I wasn't?"

"No. I expected more panic."

That brought a chuckle and a roll of her eyes.

"I'm Kalani, General. I know when to keep my mouth shut." She paused, chewed her lip slightly in thought. "Did I offend you?"

"When?"

"The other…well, any of it. I didn't mean to upset you."

Sephiroth watched her fidget for a moment, struck with how uneasy she was just talking to him when she ran into a combat situation without a second thought. Surely, he wasn't that frightening.

"No," he said. "You didn't upset me."

"Good." She offered a shy smile, looking up at him through thick, black lashes. "I know this whole mess has just been…beyond awful but…I'm glad you're here."

He didn't know what to say to that so he didn't. Neither spoke the rest of the trip and when they got off the train, her steps seemed almost mournful. She kept staring at the ground.

"I'll come back."

Yanna lifted her head.

"What?"

Sephiroth waved at a quickly approaching Genesis.

"I'll come back," he said. "You have my word."

Her eyes grew shiny and she smiled.

"Okay."

Then Genesis swept in as only he could and Sephiroth was the General once again. They listened as the redhead filled them in on everything that had happened since they spoke last and drove them to the palace. Sephiroth commented when necessary, made or updated orders that Genesis and Angeal had given in his absence, while adjusting his own plans. Through it all, Yanna remained the warm, constant presence at his back. And when she laughed at something Genesis said, it was a welcome sound.

?

_Oh Death…Oh Death…_

Men, hunters, soldiers flanked him. Genesis fell into easy step on his right. Masamune was a comforting weight in his hand as they plunged back into the void. He only looked back once. The sun had begun to rise and the warmth felt like a tangible hand on his hair. When he looked over his shoulder, towards the palace, he saw the courtyard starting to come to life with servants. Above that, the imperial suites were still and dark. Save one.

The shaman stood on her balcony, wrapped in a blue and white robe decorated with sakura blossoms. He had never thought of her as particularly attractive. Her hands and feet were too big, the bridge of her nose too high, her hips just crooked enough for him to notice. But she stood straight against the chill, spring wind, strong and steady. As he watched, she raised her hands from her heart to out in front of her, palms facing them. A prayer of some kind, or a blessing.

Sephiroth turned away and headed deeper into the jungle.

_Oh, Death, оh Death, oh Death,  
Won't you spare me over til another year…  
_

"This way, ma'am."

Yanna followed the major onto the helipad. It was too dangerous for her to stay. Sephiroth and Genesis had both said so but she couldn't help but rail against the order. She flexed her hand, her fingers curling.

"Captain Blaik told me what you did," the major said. She looked up to see grey eyes filled with the storm.

"One of the men," she said.

"My son." His voice grew thick and he blinked quickly, ushering her to her seat on the chopper. "Thank you."

"Why aren't you with the hunt?" The man had a blood right, possibly even more than Sephiroth.

"Conflict of interest." A rote answer. "I have my orders."

She clenched her fists.

_But what is this that I can't see,  
With ice cold hands taking hold of me…_

Fire lit the sky. Smoke burned their eyes. Genesis hissed orders at the team and they descended on the broken house. Rebels scattered like roaches but they were cut down just as easily.

Sephiroth caught one before he could clear the door and slammed him into the wall.

"Talk."

The little man wet himself, blubbering and begging as if it would make a difference. Sephiroth tightened his grip on the man's throat.

"I'm listening." 

_No wealth, no ruin, no silver, no gold,  
Nothing satisfies me but your soul…  
_

Yanna collapsed in her bed, nausea twisting her stomach. Despite what the reporters guessed and lied, no one really had any idea what was going on. Her six hours with Lazard and Tseng had been all questions, not answers. Still, he promised to come back. The Other Shaman trusted the General. She had to believe in theirs.

Curling into a ball, the shaman closed her eyes and prayed for sharp blades and steady hands.

_Well, I am Death, none can excel,  
I'll open the door to heaven or hell…_

It wasn't a surprise when the trail led to a member of the Royal Council. It wasn't even a surprise that the People's Army decided to have one last, glorious stand. What surprised him was that they had so few guns.

"Almost cute, isn't it?" Genesis smirked. Sephiroth looked at his second then turned to study the rebel base.__

Oh, Death, оh Death,  
my name is Death and the end is here.


	7. Chapter 7

*This chapter largely based on the Omega Theory from the FF7 forums. Don't remember the name but kudos to the extremely well-written article.

Chapter 7

"Well. It's over." Genesis sighed back into his seat and closed his eyes as the helicopter took off. Sephiroth didn't answer. It wasn't over. There was still the inevitable press conferences, the debriefings, explaining himself to President Shinra, and—of course—the funerals. This wouldn't be over for weeks but yes, at least the killing was over.

Behind them, the Shinra men who had stayed chatted quietly amongst themselves. They weren't starstruck being in the same transport as two of Shinra's Elite but they had enough sense to leave them alone. It was a welcome reprieve, and probably the only quiet Sephiroth would get in the coming weeks. He didn't even want to think of their landing. Lazard knew how much they hated the press but that didn't mean Rufus would ban the reporters from crowding the helipad. They would have to wait and see if sense or publicity won out. Maybe Angeal would be able to help.

Heaving a small sigh, the General let his eyes drift over the water. Dawn had never looked so cold to him.

"We're about to land, Seph."

In what seemed like no time at all, Genesis tapped his leg and the two generals secured their swords for landing. Lazard waited for them on the pad, along with Angeal, Tseng, Cissnei, and President Shinra. Another woman stood next to Rufus with a camera, one of the company's official photographers, no doubt. She would then pass along pictures of their triumphant return to the local papers and the air would fill with newsboys bellowing about their most recent heroics.

It made him sick.

When they landed, the other men got off first then Genesis, and finally Sephiroth himself. The woman snapped a few pictures of them saluting Lazard and greeting Rufus then the soldier director waved her back inside.

_And that's why I respect him_.

"It's good to have you home, Generals," Rufus said, all smiles and perfect hair. "Lazard wants to talk to you then we'll have a chat. Emperoro Kurosagi's been most helpful but I'd like to hear your side."

"Yes, sir," Sephiroth replied.

"Debriefing is in fifteen minutes," Lazard said. With a nod to Tseng, Lazard and Rufus walked back inside, the Turk at their back. As soon as the door swished shut, Genesis launched himself at Cissnei, who giggled and tried to keep him from messing her suit.

Angeal just laughed and held out his hand to Sephiroth.

"We were really worried," he said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Right. Um, I'll get your stuff. Lazard'll tell you but you'll probably be off for the next couple days."

"I don't need time off."

Angeal frowned slightly but didn't argue as he retrieved Sephiroth's things. Genesis threw his arms around Cissnei and Angeal, regaling them about fantastic, fictional escapades during their hunt for the rebels. Sephiroth didn't bother listening as he followed. He would probably hear it a thousand times before it was all over.

On arriving at his office, his poor secretary, a young Lieutenant Samuel Rothridge, nearly broke his knee snapping to attention.

"At ease, Lieutenant," Sephiroth said. The boy nodded but didn't relax.

"Sir. Good to have you back, sir. Something came for you, sir."

"It can wait," Sephiroth said, unlocking his office.

"It's from that Kalani woman, sir. The one that went with you." The lieutenant handed him a thin, broad box.

"As you were, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir."

Sephiroth went into his office and closed the door behind him, purposefully ignoring the mound of papers and folders on his desk as he sat down. Opening the box, he saw a military grade kabar, its hilt wrapped in black leather. A smirk twitched at his lips as he pulled the knife from its leather sheath. Black steel reflected his face nearly perfectly in the fluorescent light. It had good heft, a good edge. A fine blade, if he did say so himself.

Underneath sat a small note folded in half.

_General Sephiroth,_

_I hope this finds you well. In my culture, it is considered…tacky _

_to lose a weapon or tool that belongs to someone else. Hopefully, _

_this will make up for my lapse in manners._

_Thank you, again, for everything. And thank you for keeping your _

_promise._

—_Yanna_

The script was unfamiliar, jagged, but it reminded him faintly of the stone carved characters at her village.

"Seeeph," Genesis paged his office phone, skipping Rothridge completely, as usual. "Don't keep his highness waiting, darling."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes and secured his new knife in his boot.

"Coming, Gen."

Standing, the general slipped the note in his inside coat pocket and headed upstairs to President Shinra's personal briefing room. The faint scent of cinnamon followed him but he paid it no mind. Maybe Rothridge had some cookies or something.

?

It was hot the day of the funeral. Hot and humid and bright. Yanna imagined the Firsts were sweating, miserable in their dress uniforms and capes, but they and the rest of the soldiers stood at attention. When Sephiroth got up to speak, he was perfect, professional, and painfully blank.

"Nothing I say will make this any easier," he said, his deep voice carrying easy across the crowd. "All I can offer is justice. The men that did this have paid with their lives. As for the men we lost…" He cast his gaze over the caskets, the _children_. "I was too late. I'm very sorry."

Tears stung her eyes and she ducked her head as Director Lazard took the podium. His speech was longer, full of the consoling language expected of his position. Yanna barely listened, her chest heavy with the sobs of the families and soldiers. Then came the twenty-one gun salute and the procession to the graveyard. She followed at the back, her black dress and veil obscuring her from most of the crowd. The earth shuddered beneath her bare feet, grieving in its own way for the heartache above. It wasn't supposed to be like this. War was unnatural. Murder, more so. And this had been murder. Sephiroth claimed they had been avenged and the black blood had been satisfied. But these teenagers weren't coming back.

Rubbing her arms, Yanna watched and cried.

After the funeral, the Firsts and other commanders mingled, offering what meager comfort they could, while the crowd slowly trickled away.

"Um…ma'am?"

She turned to see a group of four or five younger soldiers, Seconds maybe but she couldn't be sure. The one in front, a young brunette with freckles on his nose, offered a small, sad smile.

"Ma'am, we heard you helped them," he said. "The doctors all said so."

"Oh. I…yes, I did what I could."

The boys snapped to attention and saluted, making her jump.

"Thank you, ma'am," the brunette said. She choked, touching her chest.

"You're welcome."

The boys dropped the salute and, with varying looks of grief, they disappeared into the crowd. Angeal nodded to them as they walked by and came over to give her a hug.

"Hey, sweetie," he said. "Thanks for coming."

"Sure, sure. How are you doing?"

He shrugged.

"Sephiroth wanted me to give this to you." He held out a three-by-five envelope. "I have to get going but I'll see you later?"

"Okay." Yanna took the card, watching him move to comfort mothers and children, then swept her veil to the side and opened the card. Careful print met her eyes, so perfect it could have been typed.

_Come to my office Monday, 11 a.m. We need to talk._

_ —S_

?

That Monday came entirely too soon. Work had dragged on like usual, almost painful in its routine after such stress, and she found herself drifting at her desk more and more. Sephiroth wanted to talk to her. It wasn't the intent that bothered her; after finding Fumikawa, it wasn't as hard to meet his eyes anymore. But the content…There were only a few things he would want to talk about and Angeal, Lazard, and Tseng had already 'debriefed' her. She had nothing to add to her treatment of the men or her injuries.

That left awkward small talk in the hallways and Makofall. She hadn't told anyone other than Genesis about her nightmares but that didn't mean he had kept quiet. It was entirely possible he had talked to at least Angeal in an effort to help but if he had told Sephiroth, that changed the situation entirely. She didn't want him to know about all the horrid images of blood and screams. They had lessened in the last few years but she felt the earth. The damage humanity had done in the last several centuries couldn't be healed in just three years.

And always, the Calamity followed her. In the mirror, in the shower, chasing her in the shadows just out of sight. True, it had been another woman that suffered the possession, but at the same time, it was her. It wasn't confusing anymore. It just…hurt. And if Sephiroth knew she woke up crying because of something that ran through his veins…She just wasn't sure if it would actually help her nightmares. It might make them worse.

But the day stubbornly refused to be nice and soon it was time to head to the Soldier Headquarters building. Her sandals padded on the white tiled floor as she entered.

A tall soldier, a Second?—no, a low First—met her in the lobby.

"I'm Captain John Maclum," he said crisply. "General Sephiroth is expecting you, ma'am. This way."

He escorted her through the maze of hallways and elevators until they reached the next to top floor bearing the offices of the generals and their immediate subordinates.

"Here it is, ma'am." The First saluted another soldier on the other side of a large desk. "This is Lieutenant Rothridge."

"Thank you, Captain."

The tall soldier nodded to her and vanished.

"Don't worry, ma'am," the lieutenant said. "We're not all as scary as him."

"Oh, it's okay. I've dealt with worse." She clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh! I'm sorry. I'm used to talking to Gen-General Rhapsodos."

"It's fine, ma'am." The boy smiled and ushered her to the large, white door a few yards away from his desk. He knocked.

"Come," she heard from inside. Rothridge opened the door and it and the walls turned to clear glass. Sephiroth stood by his desk and Rothridge gave her an encouraging smile as he closed the door behind her. The walls turned white again.

"Shiushan," Sephiroth said. "Thank you for coming."

"General."

His voice was as steady as ever, his eyes clear, his movements precise. But she couldn't help but feel a little sad anyway.

"You said we needed to talk?" she asked.

"Yes." He studied her for a long, squirming moment, then walked around her and locked the door. "Have a seat."

She obeyed, sinking into one of the chairs.

"Did they tell you anything after Makofall?" he asked.

"Right after? No. Tseng came to me and my family, gave us some money, told us not to talk about it and it was over." She watched him sit back down at his desk and fold his hands. "Why?"

"Typically after such a crisis, a real debriefing is performed. Due to the sensitive nature of the situation, it's possible that the company was simply doing damage control. However, you were and have been closely involved with Soldier, the three of us in particular. I should have met with you years ago and, for that, I apologize. But it wasn't until recently that we were able to organize everything into some semblance of a timeline."

The general set his hand on a black binder a good four inches thick. Yanna frowned.

"That's…that's all about the World-Breaker?"

"Not hardly. But it's a good start. I assume Genesis and Angeal haven't talked about it either."

"No. They've hinted at things but it always seemed…" She shrugged. "They didn't want to get into it and it felt like they couldn't get very deep without talking about you and they would never do that without asking."

"No. I suppose not." He opened the binder. "I can talk about it now. If you have the time."

Yanna swallowed and nodded, edging forward to look at the papers.

"You're familiar with the Cetra Crisis," he said.

"Yes, the Dark One destroyed them from the inside out. But that's our song-stories. We don't know for sure."

"You know more than you realize." He held up a dark photograph of stars. "This was taken by a satellite late last year. It's a dying planet in a solar system millions of lightyears away."

"So it's already dead then." She dimly remembered Genesis saying something about how light traveled during one of his tangents.

"Correct. We think this is where Jenova came from. The theory is that Jenova had become a weapon of its planet, a last attempt of preserving whatever life it could. Due to the viral nature of its cells, we think its plan was to remake Gaia into a replica of its own planet. When it crashed in the Northern Crater, it encountered the Cetra and proceeded to use its powers of illusion to trick the Cetra away from their cities."

"One of our songs tells about how she could become dead loved ones."

"Yes. To our sensibilities, it's a cruel tactic but it was effective. She infected hundreds. Some survived. Some didn't. Some mutated and some didn't even know they were infected. But enough suffered that the Cetra fought back and separated Jenova's consciousness from its power. Do you remember the Black Materia?"

"A little. The World-Breaker was worried about where it was."

"For good reason. From what we can gather, the Black Materia is the crystallized prison of Jenova's consciousness. Its…soul…if you will."

"Then what was at Nibelheim? There was a body there. I…"

Sephiroth gave her an odd look and she glanced at her hands.

"I still see her sometimes," she said quietly. "Her eyes are always so…dead…hateful."

"The body was what was left of the weapon the planet made originally. Basic instincts, a programmed will, memories. It was strong enough to call to the rest of its cells as a matter of survival, to protect itself against any other attacks, and to connect on some level to the Black Materia. In the millennia since its imprisonment, Jenova grew malicious. Surviving wasn't enough anymore. So it set out to destroy the planet that had caused it so much harm. When Shinra found the weapon in the Northern Crater, it was easy to implant the ideas of the reactors and images of what its own planet had been like."

"And the Soldier program."

Sephiroth's eyes darkened.

"Yes. Thirty years ago, the idea of injecting both Mako and Jenova cells into human bodies developed into two separate projects: G and S. Professor Hollander headed Project G, injecting both chemicals into adults. Many subjects grew sick, mutated, even died while they experimented with dosages. One of the subjects that survived was Gillian Hewley. Angeal's mother."

"She doesn't look any different."

"No. The cells they took were from the weapon, a primal creature, and it has been theorized that a strong enough will can override the genetic programming of the virus. It's also possible that when Cloud was in a comatose state in the other timeline, his will was strong enough to trick the cells into thinking they were human."

Yanna eyed him warily.

"Kalani believe the heart and soul are integral parts of the body's health but…I thought you guys were more separated."

"I did say it was a theory."

"Right. So, Angeal's mother."

"Nothing happened with her until she got pregnant. She was released for maternity leave but Shinra never stopped watching her. When Angeal was born, Shinra performed hundreds of tests on the baby. Again, nothing happened but they got the idea of injecting the cells and Mako into infants, tempered by adult blood."

"What?!"

"Genesis was injected with Gillian Hewley's blood then given to the Rhapsodos' to raise. Shinra watched the three of them for years and the boys started to show signs of increased strength, agility, and health. Both were deemed a success and Shinra continued to fund the project."

"What were they trying to do?"

"Make super soldiers. Which brings me to Project S." A bitter smile crossed his face. "Me."

Nausea twisted her gut and she pulled away.

"You."

"Professors Hojo and Lucrecia Crescent led the project and they theorized that the younger the subject, the more chance of stable integration. It obviously worked with the Hewleys but the Mako/Jenova concentration was low. So they decided to inject a higher concentration of cells into a fetus."

Yanna covered her mouth, tears gathering in her throat.

"A baby," she whispered. "They were doing this to a baby? How could…" Her eyes widened in horror. "You. They did that to you. Oh, _god_—"

"The Turk, Vincent Valentine, did not approve. For his spark of consciousness and apparent attachment to Lucrecia, the Turk was killed and turned into what you saw at Makofall."

The shaman tried to speak, tried to say something comforting or smart but nothing came. She squeezed her eyes shut and struggled to hold back the screams. Sephiroth waited.

"What—" She swallowed hard after a moment. "What about the boys?"

"Both projects were deemed successful so they were given approval to develop treatments to turn ordinary children into super soldiers. After several years and hundreds of experiments, they settled on a system of stages. The body can only take so much Mako at a time and even less of Jenova. Once the stage has begun, the body begins to reject it so treatment begins to effectively vaccinate the body, tricking it into accepting the new material and end the conflict. The stage is complete when the body stabilizes and the subject is given time to recover before the next stage begins. The hundreds of soldiers that have gotten sick in recent years are men experiencing withdrawal from stopping before their current stage was completed."

"And the World-Breaker found out about all this. That's why he turned."

"Partially. Genesis and Angeal started to reject the foreign cells and their bodies began to degrade. Break down." Sephiroth offered a piece of paper with what looked like a strangely rigid tree drawn on it. "That's where the timelines diverge. The World-Breaker, as you call him, remained with Shinra when that Genesis deserted with a full third of the army. At that point, Genesis was dying and he was trying to get Hollander to save his life. Angeal followed but he couldn't accept the fact that he had betrayed his entire life and forced their Zack to kill him."

"He what? That's suicide!"

"Yes." Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at her. "I take it that is not acceptable among Kalani."

"You could say that."

He nodded and continued.

"By the time the World-Breaker found Jenova, he was already emotionally vulnerable and physically unstable. The weapon had to do very little to convince him to lash out at the world. And the world suffered for it."

"He said the other Yanna's family suffered to."

"Thousands died. Thousands more grew sick from the Geostigma, the second attempt at viral infection. And now we get into the mysticism." He exhaled just short of a sigh. "For whatever reason, the World-Breaker was sent back sane and relatively whole almost ten years after the original desertion. I don't have all the details of what happened or why but I do know he had sexual relations with that timeline's Yanna."

"I remember that part." She smiled a little at the memory. "Papa wasn't pleased."

"Nor should he have been. The Black Materia was never accounted for in their time and whatever metaphysical power Jenova had was able to lock onto his cells, as well as the ones in her, and pull them back in time. Due to the nature of paradox, their timeline still existed, their interference causing us to form an entirely new history. The rest you know. Jenova essentially possessed that shaman and used her psychic powers involving dreams to spread her influence farther than ever before. And the world almost ended again."

"And the Black Materia…the one that belongs to this timeline…it's been found?"

"Yes."

He didn't offer any more than that, no surprise. So she nodded and sat back, raising a trembling hand to her lips.

"I keep having so many dreams. Of them, of you, of the battle…Are you okay? All of you, are you still fighting?"

"We're stable."

"I mean—"

"Don't pity me, Shiushan." His voice cut through her grief like a knife and, when she looked, his eyes were as cold and hard as that day three years ago. The eyes of the man that had had _enough_.

"As far as the men know, we are still human, merely with varying degrees of Mako exposure. And Mako only."

"Right." Knowing they were part alien would scare anyone. "Is…is it over?"

"Yes." Sephiroth sat back, spread his hands. "So. There it is. What happened three years ago was a tragedy and I couldn't, in good conscience, continue any interaction without telling you what really happened."

"Thank you, General." Yanna grabbed her purse and shakily got to her feet. "I…It's a lot to process. I need to think."

"Of course." He stood as well and led her over to the door. "This doesn't leave my office."

"Yes, General. Good-bye."

That night, she cried until she thought her heart would give out. It wasn't fair. None of it was fair. And there was nothing anybody could do.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sephiroth didn't see her again until almost a week later, when they happened to get on the same elevator. The shaman glanced up at him, startled, and pulled her three-ring binder to her chest. It was awkward, nauseating even. He felt like he should say something but nothing sounded good in his head except 'sorry' and that just felt insufficient. Angeal was better at this sort of thing.

Abruptly, the shaman grinned and looked at her feet.

"Something amusing?" he asked.

"Oh, Angeal told me to come this way. I think he's trying to set us up again."

"You noticed."

"Kind of hard not to. Did he make any kind of promise to you about Wutai and leaving us alone?"

"Yes."

"He's a bad liar." She looked up at him. "How are you, General?"

"Fine. And you?"

Her lips twitched in a small smile.

"You're a bad liar too," she said. He gave her an amused look through his bangs.

"Fine. I'm frustrated from dealing with fools all day and I'm on my way to get a report from Genesis that should have been in from another department days ago."

"Sounds about right. I'm going to Gen too. Sorry, General Rhapsodos."

"I don't care what you call him." He nodded to her binder. "What's that?"

"One of my many headaches. My friend Joanna's taken over the rehab program temporarily because I've been put in charge of coordinating Shinra's involvement with the summer festival this year. Which means working with Angeal because it's on this continent and his peacekeeping troops and Genesis because it's a foreign nation and Tseng and Veld because the President will be there and there's a permit list for that piece of land longer than I am tall."

She huffed then blinked and gave a bashful grin.

"Sorry. Little stressed."

"Understandable. May I?"

She handed him the notebook and he flipped through the various notes, plans, and plastic covered copies of signed forms.

"Sorry about the chocobo-scratch," she said. "But I learned very quickly to write everything down. Especially when people say 'something came up' or 'I don't recall saying that, you must be thinking of someone else.'"

"Translation: When you deal with incompetents." He gave the notebook back. "I can relate."

The elevator dinged on his floor and he let her go first down the hall to Genesis' office.

"Soldiers have gone to the festival for several years, correct?"

"Yes but always as…civilians?" She tripped over the word. Right. Kalani didn't have civilians. "Never in their uniforms. This year is the first year we're inviting them as proper warriors. The elders approved it just this past winter. I'm working on a protocol list to email out a couple weeks beforehand. Nothing major, just some cultural tips to avoid problems."

"A wise decision. Be sure to show one of us the list before you send it."

"Yes, General."

They reached Genesis' office and he knocked on the door. An irritated 'come in' sounded and Sephiroth held open the door for her.

"Finally!" Genesis exclaimed. "Intelligent conversation!"

"Long day, Gen?" Yanna asked.

"Oh, you have no idea. Here's that report you wanted, Seph." The red general held up a blue folder clipped to other papers. "I have no idea how it got over here. This isn't even my territory."

"I'm working on that," Sephiroth said.

"Do you have those permits for me too?" Yanna asked.

"Yeah, just a sec." Rifling through the chaos on his desk, Genesis retrieved a small stack of signed forms and gave them to the shaman. "Why was part of the water in here? I thought that was Perkins' job."

"Something came up."

"'Something came up?' That's his excuse? I come up, that doesn't mean I don't do my job."

"Yes, Gen. Can I borrow your rule book while I'm here?"

"Why?"

"I'm writing the protocol list."

"The proto—Yanna!"

"I emailed you about it."

"That isn't your job!"

"Too late now." She held out her hand. "The book?"

Glaring, Genesis took the black Soldier Conduct Manual off the shelf behind him and gave it to her.

"Thank you." She smiled brightly. "We still on for tomorrow?"

"If you quit trying to plan this blasted thing yourself, yes."

"Great. Good to see you, General." She smiled at Sephiroth and walked out of the office.

"That woman's going to have a stroke before she's thirty," Genesis muttered.

"Not a new development?"

"Hardly. Do you think you could talk some sense into her?"

"You remember how the last talk went."

"Still weird?"

Sephiroth shrugged.

"What's going on tomorrow?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh, it's our weekly planning meeting for the festival. Angeal will be there, maybe Tseng or Cissnei, probably Cissnei. Do you want to come? It's at eight in the conference room."

"I'll think about it."

"Hopefully, you'll come anyway. There's too much estrogen in that room as it is."

"Cissnei's not that bad."

"I meant Angeal."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes and waved the report at him.

"I'll see you later."

Yanna was still standing out in the hall, reading over her new paperwork. Her brow creased in an anxious frown and she chewed on the side of her lip.

"Something wrong?"

She jumped, her face clearing to the careful pleasantness he'd come to associate with her.

"No, no, everything's fine," she said. "I just have to make a few phone calls. Sorry. I um…I guess I'll see you some other time then."

"Shiushan."

"Hmm?"

"Genesis thinks I should come to the meeting tomorrow."

Her eyes brightened, her shoulders lifting slightly, but she just as quickly squashed it behind a guarded smile.

"Are the boys in danger?" she asked.

"No."

"Are my people?"

"No."

"Then, sure, if you have time," she said. "I'm sure Angeal and Genesis will keep you updated on everything but if you want to have a hand in it, you're more than welcome."

Sephiroth studied her, unsure whether that was still more politeness or a genuine request.

"I'll try."

"Great! Um…see you tomorrow, then. Maybe." One last smile and she hurried off down the hall. He tilted his head. Strange how such a ferocious woman could turn into such a scurrying little mouse so quickly. Or how she could smile so easily after he told her what he really was.

Shaking his head, Sephiroth retreated back to his own office. It didn't matter. As General of the Armies, he needed to know what was going on and if he had to sit through one awkward meeting, then so be it. It's not like he hadn't done that before.

?

And an awkward meeting it was, at least at first. Yanna seemed positively skittish when he arrived but as the meeting progressed and they explained what had been done so far, her voice grew stronger. He asked a few questions here and there though his colleagues had things well in hand. Cissnei seemed particularly aware of any security risks.

For the most part, he just listened. Genesis hadn't been exaggerating when he said Yanna would have a coronary soon. Her to-do list rivaled theirs and most of it was from taking on things other people couldn't or wouldn't do. Sephiroth hoped she had others helping her besides the three people in this room, especially with those participants that were taking their time responding.

"You're too nice," Cissnei accused at one point. Yanna had just shrugged and kept going.

After the meeting, Yanna exchanged hugs with Angeal and Genesis, gave Sephiroth a small wave, and walked out with the Turk.

"So whatcha think?" Angeal asked.

"It's impressive." Sephiroth stood and looked over their notes and diagrams. The Kalani had already started basic construction and with the permits Yanna had just secured, Shinra would be there to help later that week.

"That's a lot of work in twelve weeks."

"And all of it's gonna hit at the same time." Genesis ran a hand through his hair. "Hey Seph, you still have the number for that surveyor we met at the mines?"

"Yes, why?"

"I don't like how close this thing is getting to the ridge. The sinkholes in that area can get pretty bad."

"You noticed that too," Angeal said.

"Get me the coordinates and I'll call him this afternoon."

"Thanks."

"So you and Yanna seem better," Angeal said.

Sephiroth nearly groaned while Genesis just chuckled.

"Really?" The General asked. "We're having this conversation again?"

"I was just noticing."

"Well, stop it. She's even noticed you're trying to set us up again. Enough."

"Oh nevermind him," Genesis said. "He just wants someone to double-date with him and that new teacher of his."

"Her name is Celeste and why not? You and Cissnei are practically living together and you still haven't come with us."

"Not all of us are as girly as you, darling."

"Hey now—"

"So, still coming to dinner, Seph?"

"I'll be there." Sephiroth turned to leave when he heard Angeal shift behind him. He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm glad she's not scared," said the dark one. Sephiroth glanced at the floor.

"Yes," he said quietly. "Me too."

?

Genesis insisted he come to the second meeting. After all, this _was_ a monumental step towards better relations with the tribe and the new, geo-friendly face of Shinra. The third he came to voluntarily, having some new ideas on layout for the more dangerous events. By the fifth, the group had established a good working rhythm.

"So…" Yanna stayed behind after the others left to make a few notes and gather her things. "Did you want to get some lunch?"

Sephiroth blinked at her.

"I mean, if you have time," she scrambled, blushing. "I know you've got other things to do and I understand if you don't want to."

"What time is it?" Sephiroth asked, checking his watch. Almost eleven. This meeting had run a little longer than the others.

"I have time." He had no idea what possessed him to say that but the smile that crossed her face made it feel worth it.

"Great!" She said. "Okay, where do you want to go?"

"Depends what you're in the mood for." Sephiroth started to lead the way down the hall then froze, ear cocked.

"General?"

The horrible, grating sound of Heidegger's laugh echoing across the floor made him cringe.

"This way." He walked quickly to the stairwell and opened the door for her. "If you ever need to reach any of us in an emergency, use the stairs. Elevators can be broken or manipulated."

"Yes, General." She raised an eyebrow at him as they descended. "Are you hiding from someone?"

"No." Reaching the next floor down, Sephiroth made to open the door when a flash of red hair and too much skin caught his eye. He swore under his breath.

"What is it?" Yanna peered through the little window in the door. "Oh, I hate that woman! Crap. This way."

Taking his wrist, she led him down a few more flights then out on the third floor. He withdrew his wrist and followed her as she navigated the ridiculous halls and service stairs.

"How do you know the building so well?" he asked.

"I get lost a lot. And, to be honest, I only take elevators because they're faster. I hate the stupid things. Just a metal box between you and a slow painful death crumpled on the floor? No, thank you."

"Are you afraid of heights?"

"No, just falling." She ran up to a beige-painted gate and smacked the bars. "This wasn't locked before!"

"Move." Sephiroth knelt in front of the gate, drawing a pin out of his cuff. He felt more than heard her chuckle.

"Won't you get in trouble?"

"With whom?" The lock clicked open. "Go."

She giggled as she slipped past him and into the main lobby of the building. No one seemed to notice their sudden appearance and she sighed, grinning.

"Ta-da!" She said, holding out her arms. Sephiroth almost grinned but that noise grated down his spine and he pulled her into an inset doorway. She gave him a startled look but he put a finger to his lips and motioned over to the elevators. She frowned in confusion then her eyes widened. She shrank back from the fat man he knew was stomping around.

"You're familiar," Sephiroth muttered. She nodded, her lip curling.

"He tried to hug me once. Smelled like rotten goat milk. What do we do?"

"There's a service door behind you with a red stripe across the middle. It's always unlocked during the day."

"Okay."

She didn't look over her shoulder, just huddled in his shadow. Behind him, the fat, braying head of Soldier made some bawdy joke with the receptionists and the poor girls were trying to laugh politely without encouraging him.

"Go."

Yanna spun away in whirl of white linen and hurried to the door. After a moment, he followed, a proper ghost in black leather flitting through the last service hall to the outside of the building.

"We made it!" Yanna greeted him on the other side, her black hair shining in the sunlight as she laughed. "So, where to now, General?"

He checked his watch again.

"There's a café a couple blocks from here," he said. "We eat there fairly regularly."

"Sounds good to me." She fell into step on his right side and motioned to his watch. "Do you need to get back soon?"

"No."

"Okay."

She looked like she still had questions but she turned to look out at the street.

"Most of my fans are between the ages of five and thirty-two," he said. "The ones eighteen and younger are in school but the older ones will be going on their lunch break soon and I'd rather not deal with that today."

"Ah." She blinked. "Wait, that's everyone."

"Yes." No, he was not embarrassed. But Yanna chuckled as if he were and lifted her face into the wind.

"Thank you for coming," she said.

"Thank you for asking. I admit I wasn't expecting it."

"Yeah. I wasn't either. When I saw you in the elevator, I had no idea what to say. I mean, what do you say after something like that? There's all this history between us but there isn't and I want to fix everything and I can't and I don't know if you're mad at me—"

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"For putting you in this position." Dark eyes held more knowing than he was comfortable with. "I'm not stupid, General. I know my job is almost forcing you guys to interact with me."

"Your position has proved invaluable. Any discomfort on my end is my problem. Move to my other side, please."

"Hmm?" She obeyed but threw him a questioning glance. "But you're left- handed."

"Yes, but we're still on the base." As if to prove a point, a third passed him on the sidewalk, saluted, and Sephiroth saluted back.

"Ohh…Gen's right-handed. I guess I never noticed. Anyway, I'm sorry. I am glad you're coming to the meetings. It means a lot that you all support it."

"The people in Shinra's care are going to need all the help they can get in the next several years. Any efforts to that effect are more than welcome." He tilted his head. "I'm not mad at you. In all honesty, I thought you would be loathe to speak to us."

"Because of what happened?" She sighed, shaking her head. "Oh, General, if you only knew my secrets. And as long as we're being honest, yes. It did scare me. But it's over and, while I wish none of it had happened, it did make you strong enough to take care of the men. It could've happened a lot differently. You could've been bitter and angry and then all those people would have died anyway, just because you didn't care or you thought you were entitled. Knowing what happened and how you've turned it all around just makes me respect you more."

Sephiroth glanced at his boots before turning his gaze on the rest of the street.

"So you're close to Genesis and Angeal," he said.

"Mm-hmm." She accepted the shift easily and flicked one of her braids over her shoulder. "Genesis was actually the first one to listen to my ideas."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it took a while to get settled at home but when I started thinking about…everything…the land and the crops just looked so sad. I tried writing, calling, knocking on doors. Gen was visiting the plains for something and I recognized him, hounded him until he talked to me."

"People have been incinerated for less."

"Oh, I know. He was really nice to me though. He just…it seemed like he had a lot on his mind. Then he started quoting _Loveless_ and we started talking about song-stories and it just went from there."

"He hasn't quoted _Loveless_ in a long time."

"Is that strange?"

"Very."

They reached the café and he held the door open for her before following the host to a little table in the far corner. Sephiroth sat with his back to the corner and she grinned.

"Gen does that too."

"It's a Soldier thing."

"Mmm. So what do you like to eat?"

"Anything."

"No, I asked what you _liked_ to eat."

Sephiroth tilted his head, mildly amused at her bossy tone.

"Anything grilled," he said. "It's obviously different from cooking inside. Or at least, it tastes like it. You?"

"Well, everything Kalani have is grilled or roasted so fire is my friend. But since moving to the city, I've kind of fallen in love with pasta."

"In that case, try the shrimp mezzaluna." He pointed to a line on the menu. "Do you like seafood?"

"Yeah, that does sound good."

"Good afternoon, sir, ma'am." The waiter approached, polite and professional as always, and set down a basket of fresh breadsticks.

"Hello, John," Sephiroth said. "The usual for me and the shrimp mezzaluna for the lady."

"Yes, sir."

Yanna gave him a look when the waiter left.

"I said we come here a lot."

"Clearly." Crossing her legs, she leaned back in her chair. "So what does the General of the Armies do in his spare time?"

"The General of the Armies doesn't have spare time."

"Okay, so what do _you_ do?"

"Train."

"Of course you do." She smiled. "Tired of all the small talk yet?"

"A little." He chanced a grin, the corners of his mouth twitching. "Is it always so painful?"

"Hey! Maybe I'll just leave and let that girl in the front come sit with you."

"No. No fangirls today, remember?"

"Then maybe you should wear a shirt."

"Maybe you should learn better social skills."

She threw a piece of bread at him.

?

"Soooo how was your date?" Angeal asked.

"It wasn't a date."

"Sorry, sorry." He held up his hands. "How was it?"

"Fine."

"Just 'fine'?"

"Enjoyable." Sephiroth sat down at his desk, pointedly turning to his computer. "You can go now."

"Are you going to see her again?"

"_Out_."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Week Six:

"So chocolate or vanilla?"

"Chocolate."

"Really?"

"Our metabolism is so fast, we have to snack constantly and all the good snacks have chocolate on them. You?"

"Chocolate. Because it's bad for me. This brownie is delicious, by the way."

"Of course it is."

?

Week seven:

"You can't be serious."

"What? I like the story and the characters. It's fun."

"It's purile, at _best_. The dialogue is weak and stilted and the stage directions are so vague, no one production company can be consistent with another."

"That's what makes it organic and personal. Not everything has to be perfect."

"Then they should have written it differently."

"Okay, fine. What do you think about horror movies?"

"The inaccuracies and irrationalities make me want to vomit."

"Oh, I can understand some of them."

"You can understand the woman going upstairs to a room full of creatures that have just killed everyone she knows."

"No, she deserves to die."

"Good. Romance?"

"Only when I want to hate myself."

?

Week eight:

"You're not eating."

"Not hungry."

"Work?"

"Of a sort."

"Oh. Do you want to sit on the bench and laugh at how stupid people are?"

"Maybe later."

"Okay. Hey General?"

"Yes?"

"You'll make the right decision."

?

Week nine:

"Oh, for the last time, would you stop whining about this? She likes you. Deal with it."

"Is something wrong, Gen?"

"Only that my commanding officer seems to lose his balls around a pretty girl. That's all."

"Gen, if you want her…"

"I don't want her. I just—you're the strongest man I know. If you can't have a normal life…"

"She's very fond of you. And Cissnei."

"That's because we're awesome. Now go, she's waiting for you."

"Thanks, Gen."

"Thank me when you get laid."

?

Week Ten:

"Shiushan, are you all right?"

"General! I'm fine. Sorry. Hi, how are you?"

"We've bled for each other. I think we're beyond petty lies at this point."

"It's just…frustrating when everyone wants a hundred percent and nothing you do is good enough and it's all in different directions."

"I can sympathize. Come."

"Where are we going?"

"Do you like ice-cream?"

"Love it. And I don't mean to whine. I mean, at least I know it'll be done properly if I do it."

"Shiushan. Jenova almost succeeded because I had to have things done 'properly.'"

"Yes, General."

?

Week Eleven:

"What did you decide about the water permits?"

"I told them to get Marcus. That's why we hired him."

"Well done."

"What about the Junon mess?"

"Gave it to Lazard."

"Good. Wow, we're really lame, aren't we?"

"I'm satisfied with my non-existent life."

"I am too. Want to split a thing of cheese sticks?"

"All right. Have you heard from Genesis?"

"Yes."

"You sound thrilled."

"I think I have to kill him."

"After Friday. I need him to go to the southern islands."

"Fine but if that girl keeps staring at you, I may have to kill her too."

"Shiushan, are you jealous?"

"What would you say if I was?"

"I'd say you need to keep that knife in your boot."

"How did you—"

"I'm Sephiroth."

"So you'll look the other way?"

"I'll have to. School's about to let out."

"Crap."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The week before the festival was a circus unto itself. All of Shinra and most of New Midgar was preparing for what had become the largest open air market on the continent in recent years. Coincidentally, the festival also lapped the anniversary of Makofall. Sephiroth had only ever acknowledged the festival as just another convention, hell on traffic and a ridiculous amount of tourists. But now that he was involved, it took on an entirely new light. The number of vendors alone was staggering and last-minute stall confirmations had the marketing department spinning.

Yanna disappeared that last week, presumably to take care of things with the tribe itself. As a holy woman, she had duties to her people but since working with Shinra as a combination of consultant/ambassador, she left the day-to-day responsibilities to the other shaman in her village. Now, all of the major preparations of what would become a mass exodus loomed over her. Or, as Genesis put it, the other shaman and warriors probably had things taken care of but Yanna had that over-arching need to check anyway. He called it 'neurotic.' Sephiroth called it 'good preparation.'

The day before the festival was to officially start, Rufus, his Turks, the three generals, and Zack arrived at the massive plot of land allotted on the plains. Tents, stalls, and store fronts stretched as far as the eye could see, banked only by the mountains to the south. Both Kalani and Midgaran merchants scurried back and forth with beads, signs, goods, and swaths of colorful fabric streamers to make their establishments just so. The smell of roasted meat and spices filled the air next to the stockyards of cattle and smaller beasts. It reminded Sephiroth of the markets from the old days but then, without the Mako, everything had stepped back a little.

"President Shinra, welcome." A graying elder approached them, flanked by two more of what Sephiroth assumed to be other high-ranking elders. Rufus smiled his media smile and nodded, his own white-suited person flanked by Tseng, Reno, Rude, and Cissnei.

"We trust these games will start a new era of peace and prosperity for the both of us," the elder said, spreading his hands.

"As do we all," Rufus said.

"Yanna." The elder snapped his fingers and Yanna stepped out from behind them, dressed in a simple, halter neck gown of white linen with her hair in thin braids. "You know our honored shiushan of the mountain clan. Yanna, show our guests to where they will be staying."

With that, the elders swept away. Rufus gave a 'wow' face then smiled for real and came up to shake her hand.

"Good to see you, Ms. Yanna," he said.

"And you, Mr. Shinra. Did everything check out, Tseng?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Then follow me." Turning, Yanna grabbed her skirt and led them south to a series of bungalows set on a low hill.

"Why are we so far from the booze?" Reno asked.

"So you don't drink it all," Yanna smirked. "Besides, we thought you'd like the view."

The company paused at the height of the overlook and Zack laughed in delight. From here, the bright reds, greens, blues, oranges, and yellows of the various stalls unfolded like a patchwork quilt, peppered here and there with flags and streamers. The ridge stretched out to the west by the lake, stalls carefully arranged to avoid problem areas, and arenas of varying sizes lay scattered about. A massive, Shinra-built coliseum stood towards the north and past that, Sephiroth could make out the stockyards and stables.

"It must look wondrous at night," Rufus said.

"It does. And this isn't even everyone. The crowd will probably double by the opening ceremonies tonight. This way, everyone."

Yanna went to one of the first bungalows and led them inside.

"This one is for you and the Turks," she said. "The soldiers have the two others. Small sink and oven, full size refrigerator, economy washer and dryer combo. And showers, of course."

"How modern."

"Well, we thought you'd like that more than a hole in the ground to pee in. I'll let you get settled. The opening ceremonies start at sunset and the welcome feast will be after. Generals, this way."

On entering the second bungalow, Zack wrapped Yanna in a bear hug.

"It's so good to see you! I missed you!"

"Zack, you're choking her." Angeal smacked him in the back of the head then gave her a more subdued hug.

"How are you, sweetie?" he asked.

"Better now. It's been busy."

Genesis kissed her cheek then shouldered past them to claim the best room.

"We can imagine," Angeal said, hefting his bag. "Thanks for arranging all this. It's amazing. And you got us a vacation."

"Glad I could help." She smiled over at Sephiroth. "Hello, General."

"Ma'am."

"When will the rest of the men arrive?"

"Some will be here for the opening ceremonies. The rest will be here tomorrow."

"And the—"

"They'll behave."

"Good. Um, excuse me. I have more to do before we start but make yourselves at home and someone will come get you soon."

"Tired of us already?" Zack asked.

"Yes," she grinned. "Oh and that door in the back leads to the next building for when Cloud and the girls get here. See you later."

Sephiroth stepped aside to let her leave but didn't miss the slightly reproving look on Angeal's face.

"What?" he asked.

"'Ma'am'? That's all she gets? 'Ma'am'?"

"I'm sorry. Next time I'll throw her on the table and have wild monkey sex."

Angeal just rolled his eyes and headed deeper into the house.

"I'm going to take a nap."

Sephiroth grabbed his own bag and went to claim one of the empty room in the front of the house. It was simply furnished bedroom with a small desk and chair, not unlike a basic hotel room. The bed, somewhere between a twin and a full, was actually long enough for him and he set his bag on the end. This was probably Yanna's doing as well. As was the bowl of hard candies on the desk.

Smiling slightly, the general popped one in his mouth. Fruity but not too sweet. Good. Taking off his coat, he sighed and pulled out his laptop. Might as well get some work done before sunset.

?

A young woman in green and red named Rella came to escort them all to the coliseum a few hours later, leading them to a section near the combined elders of the different tribes.

"I don't like them," Genesis said breezily.

"Hush, Gen."

Sephiroth resisted the urge to roll his shoulders at the feel of so many stares in the rapidly-filling stadium and focused on the torch lit arena below. It was wide, not unlike their sport's stadiums, save for the large firepit on the right. Other soldiers milled around, showing a surprising level of familiarity with the tribespeople.

A drum sounded and the crowd settled as yet another elder stepped into the arena. The obligatory speeches followed, more about peace and diplomacy and partnerships. Rufus joined him in the arena and they traded sprigs of an eastern vine to the applause of the spectators.

Then they left and a tall, well built man stepped into the arena. Straight black hair reached past his bare, tattooed shoulders, braided in a style like Yanna's.

"Kalin," Genesis said. "Yanna's cousin on her mom's side. He's a warrior-shaman for the plains people."

The crowd cheered for him, settling only when he raised his hands.

"Tonight," his deep voice rolled through the crowd. "We gather to celebrate the life and health of our people with games and feasts and dance. Welcome to the summer festival!"

Happy cheers followed, excited and antsy.

"And this year, we welcome President Shinra and his warriors." He spread his arms and bowed to their section.

"Too long have we isolated ourselves," he continued, turning back to the crowd. "We, who pride ourselves on preserving the Old Ways, honoring the earth, have ignored our brothers, let them suffer at the hands of evil men.

"And they, with all their strength, have let us waste away in the wilderness, powerless against Those-We-Do-Not-Name.

"Such apathy ends tonight!"

Kalin clapped his palms together, pulled them apart. Blue energy crackled between his hands, shadows dancing up his arms and legs.

"And now, brothers and sisters, I will tell the Tale of the Sun-Killer and the rise of our greatest strength."

By now the sun had set and torchlight filled the stadium. Dancers dressed in different furs crept around the circle and waited as Yanna stepped out behind Kalin. Veils flowed from her arms and hair.

"In the early years of our world," Kalin said. "Man was still young."

A sharp gesture and the arena filled with black smoke, studded with stars and a swirling emerald in the center for Gaia. Around them, the dancers started moving to steady drumbeats, some with weapons, others, women, with scarves.

"The Old Ones lived, fought, loved…then the sky fell."

Yanna swept her arms out and red smoke gathered high above Gaia. The emerald grew, 'zooming in' to show an angry, stylized Northern Crater.

"The Old Ones came together to heal our world, as they did, but there was one thing they missed."

Kalin breathed and a wispy form, almost ghost-like flickered and disappeared into the crowd. A child in the front row cried out, pointing, but the crowd was focusing on Yanna forming thin beings of light. The Ancients, probably.

"We don't know who first suspected something was wrong. But we know who struck the first blow.

Yanna raised her hands and the ground around them erupted in flames. Some of the Ancients screamed, others flew up above it. White light poured from their hands, beating back the flames until only a small coal remained. The flying Ancients disappeared and some of the dancers fell to the ground, victims of the calamity. Kalin and Yanna made a four-pronged sign across their faces and chests and Sephiroth watched the crowd do likewise, even some of his own men.

"Signs for the honored dead," Genesis said. "A prayer for their families."

Yanna walked forward.

"Since then, we have labored alone." Her voice sounded deeper, pitched to carry further like her cousin's. "Either too proud or too ignorant to ask for help. And our world has suffered for it. We have all suffered."

"You may remember," Kalin said. "When the sky grew dark and the dead wept."

The atmosphere changed accordingly and the dancers leapt up, facing out with weapons or hands brought to bear. Dark, menacing shapes morphed out of the shadows in the corners of the stadium and started to move towards the center.

"A star fell. And the world went mad."

The dark shapes attacked. The dancers fought back. Kalin held out his hand and wolves sprang from the ground at his feet. The crowd roared in waves, each accompanying a different color wolf.

Above them, a great white serpent twisted out of the cloud, writhing, circling, dipping to just barely brush the crowd's heads.

Yanna held the ember now, fighting it, the veils and skirt flapping wildly. The serpent roared, someone screamed, and the thing that could only be Jenova dove. It grabbed the ember, knocking Yanna to the ground. The crowd railed, angry, indignant, as the wolves and dancers fought and fell to the beat of drums and battle songs.

Coughing, Yanna crawled to the firepit and fell into it. Flames roared, engulfed her, until only her silhouette stood against the light. Slowly, the form changed, growing taller, thicker.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. Spiky hair?

"Is that—"

"Yes!" Genesis clapped, blue eyes dancing. "Now it gets interesting!"

The form in the pit lifted its arm, stretching, then a big grey dog leapt onto the field to join the fight. The form in the fire shifted, smaller, thinner, and a small gold griffin flew out.

"Zack and Cloud?" Angeal asked. Genesis nodded as sleek tawny cats piled out, one with a tell-tale red streak down its back.

"And the Turks," he said. "How thoughtful."

The form shifted again, now to a huge, hulking man with slicked back hair. Yanna reached over her shoulder and a large rectangle appeared.

The Buster Blade.

Soldiers and tribesmen who recognized it cheered and clapped as a great winged lion with silver-blue fur stepped out of the pit. Its paws burned the ground in its wake, its massive jaws catching a black form and breaking it in half. Sephiroth could only assume the shadows represented those Jenova had controlled through dreams. Something about Yanna, in either universe, being able to travel through the subconscious. He shuddered to think what Jenova could have done if she had possessed the other Yanna longer.

The form shifted again and, this time, leather flapped. This one grew lean and spun with a complicated sword move. More soldiers cheered and a phoenix flew straight up to harry the serpent.

Around them, the crowd began to chant over the battle-songs.

"What are they saying?" Sephiroth asked.

"_Ishi Ma-Sala_," Genesis said. "'Make it rain.'"

"What?"

"You'll see." The redhead stared wide-eyed at the phoenix darting in and out of the serpent's coils.

Down in the pit, the form knelt. Spectators almost bounced in anticipation, torn between watching the ever growing battle, the fire, and the serpent. The form stood, slowly, and at the sight of his coat and long hair, the crowd went wild.

Sephiroth tensed at what form this beast would take. Then sharp black claws rose out of the flames, followed by wings and the sinuous arc of a spined neck. At last, piercing eyes and long thin jaws emerged and the dragon took flight.

Jenova screamed, fled higher into the sky. The phoenix and lion followed into the clouds. Thunder cracked and lights flashed in the clouds' shadows. The chant rose to deafening heights. Even Genesis started to chant under his breath.

"Gen?" Angeal asked.

"_And the Dark One rebelled against heaven, waging war with the servants of the Light. The All-Father struck him and his down and the sky wept blood for forty days and forty nights._"

Yanna stepped out of the flames and held her arms out, palms up to the sky.

"Tonight, the Old Ones shall be avenged! The Dark One will send others to destroy us, steal our children and hunt our souls. But never again will we watch as our brothers and sisters burn."

The frenzy of battle seemed to still, the breath before the jump. Yanna looked at Sephiroth and, for once, he felt the pierce of another's gaze. When she spoke, her voice was soft, resolute. He could feel it in his bones.

"Tonight…we make it rain."

Wolves and wraiths vanished in a shower of sparks. Dancers swung into a different rhythm, joined by some of the spectators as they circled and stamped. The serpent above writhed, coils slithering amid the clouds, the three 'heroes' darting, striking at exposed flesh.

Yanna lifted her face, closed her eyes. The three suddenly dove. The serpent followed, screeching to compete with the nearly manic chant. Then, as one, the heroes turned and fired what energy they had. They all struck. Jenova let out one last scream and tore apart, making the sky weep blood.

Silence reigned for a full second before the crowd erupted. Sephiroth winced at the sternum-thrumming volume but managed to clap with the rest of them.

"Man!" Zack exclaimed. "How do you follow that?!" He looked at his hands and laughed. The blood never reached the people.

"And now, dear friends, we feast!" Genesis stood then paused and looked out at the thousands of people packed into the exits. He coughed. "We can wait."

Someone started playing music, drums and flutes of some kind, and Zack danced a little in place while they waited for the chance to leave. Yanna met them outside.

"That was incredible, my dear!" Rufus said, kissing her hand. "And thank you for putting us in such a favorable light."

"Of course. I'm glad you had a good time."

Zack pounced on her again, making her wince, and Angeal hauled him off by the scruff of his neck.

"Where do you want us?" he asked.

"Right this way," she said, laughing. Through the throng, she led them to a ring of large, rectangle tents facing a cleared area of packed dirt. Dozens of woven mats and pillows lined the ring and high-ranking Kalani and Shinra people were already finding their seats, including Director Lazard. Rufus went to join him and the other directors.

"Sit wherever you like." Yanna picked a spot off to the side, waved to a woman further out, and sat down. Sephiroth sat down next to her and within minutes, women circled through with pitchers of wine and ceramic mugs.

"Plum?" Sephiroth asked, sipping the dark purple drink.

"Among other things. Apples, grapes, berries. We get very creative."

"Zack, if you get drunk, I'm leaving you where you fall," Angeal said from Sephiroth's other side.

"Yeah yeah yeah," said the pup and proceeded to empty his mug. Soon, platters of food were brought in with low tables and placed at regular intervals around the ring. Fruits, bowls of vegetables and sauces, fresh spice bread, and huge cuts of meat made their mouths water.

"Take whatever you like," Yanna said. "Believe me, there's plenty."

"We give thanks to the hundreds of little creatures feeding our gluttony," Genesis said. "And this sauce!"

"You said you liked it."

"Aw, honey, you remembered."

Sephiroth picked at a drumstick, relishing the juicy meat and spicy crust.

"This is delicious," he said.

"Good." Yanna took a slow sip of her wine, her eyes drooping.

"Are you all right?"

"Hmm? Oh. Just a headache."

Sephiroth subtly cast a healing spell under the table and watched the soft glow brush her skin.

"Better?"

Her smile came easier this time.

"Yes, thank you." She swept her eyes around the ring and he could almost see the checklist behind her eyes.

"You've done well," he said. She blinked, caught, and she chuckled.

"Sorry. Just checking on things. Ah, there they are."

Different women, this time dressed in tight crop tops and long flowing skirts of bright colors trailed in with veils and glittering jewelry. Music started playing and the women circled into a light, flirty dance with a lot of cymbals and hip movements.

"That's better." She looked over her shoulder, checking other meal circles, then sighed and dug into the food. "Sorry. This is the first time I've sat down all day."

"Don't apologize. That was an impressive display earlier."

"The animals were okay?"

"Very appropriate. You even managed to make Zack look somewhat intimidating."

"Well, I have been called a magician before. Try the rolls. They're filled with shredded meat."

"Thank you." Sephiroth let his gaze travel over the circle and through the spaces in the tents. Soldiers and Kalani, civilians and tribesmen sat next to each other, laughed, ate.

"You seem to have accepted my men."

"That was mostly Kalin's doing. He always tries to present Soldier as just another warrior culture."

"We appreciate it."

"Sure sure." Taking another deep breath, Yanna rubbed her eyes and smiled at him.

"It's good to see you, Sephiroth."

"And you."

A few yards away, Rufus and the elders spoke, fake and polite, with the other directors. Sephiroth tensed when one of the old men glanced their way. He narrowed his eyes.

"General?"

He cleared his throat, shooting a warning look.

"Tell me more about the games."

?

Song-stories followed the meal, accompanied by more dancing and music. Yanna would translate when needed but Sephiroth was just as content to listen to the music.

"This one is kin to the songs during the Reed Dance," she said, almost wistful. "I remember when I was in it. Meara and I stayed up all night figuring out how we wanted to braid our hair now that we were women."

"Do you still braid it that way?"

"No, this is several, several changes down the road."

He studied the thin braids sweeping back from her forehead to the back, gathering in a simple clip and trailing down her shoulders. Other women he'd seen were almost Wutaian in their extravagance, with braids, beads, feathers, elaborate loops, and chains. Some had flowers or even animal bones.

"I like it this way," he said.

"Thanks." She touched her hair, glanced up at the moon. "I should go make my rounds. Oh, but before I forget, did Gen tell you about the Walk tomorrow?"

"In passing. I think that part was already planned by the time I started attending."

"Well, every year, during the first full moon of the festival, all the healers and pack leaders gather at the base of the mountain." She pointed to the peaks in the south. "A healing shaman walks with the warriors, a warrior shaman walks with the healers." Dark eyes turned back to him. "It's for those of us that lost people during the year."

"Patients and subordinates."

"We're responsible for them. I think Gen likened it to a memorial service. Anyway, the three of you are invited."

Sephiroth tilted his head.

"Are you sure we wouldn't offend anyone?"

"Anyone that has a problem with it can go on one of the other Walks. Zack and Cloud are too young but if you want to come, you're more than welcome."

"Thank you."

Down the line, Zack had completely passed out on Angeal's shoulder and Genesis was sticking pretzels up his nose when the mentor wasn't looking. He felt a pang in his chest. He'd lost a lot of men like that, groups of friends that just wanted to become something. So many funerals this year alone. He hated the services but it was his responsibility to face his failures, offer the families someone to blame. This Walk sounded more…personal. He didn't particularly like the concept—he always grieved alone—but in the spirit of cooperation…

"What's appropriate to wear to the Walk?"

As tired as she was, Yanna's face lit up and she looked like she might hug him.

"Your uniform is fine," she said. "And don't worry; you won't have to say anything. No one talks on these. Oh, but don't wear your gloves."

"Why?"

"We…well, I know it sounds silly but we put clay dust on our hands before we hike up the mountain."

"Very well."

Another smile and Yanna got to her feet.

"Bye, boys," she called, waving. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, sweetie!"

"Farewell, darling."

Sephiroth watched her leave, no doubt to see her family elsewhere on the grounds, then grabbed a meat bun and stood.

"Don't start any incidents," he ordered. Genesis giggled, now moving on to putting things in Zack's hair.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Stop messing with him, Gen!" Angeal hissed. Sephiroth rolled his eyes and left them to it. Maybe he'd get a couple hours of sleep before they staggered in.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The next morning, Sephiroh woke early, as usual, and went into the kitchen. Angeal sat at the table, munching on a bowl of cereal.

"Morning, Seph," he said cheerfully.

"Angeal."

"President Shinra went back this morning."

"Any strange, off-hand orders?"

"None that you'd want to hear."

"Good man." Sephiroth got a bowl of cereal for himself and sat down. "And the girls?"

"They got in last night but I guess they were just in other circles. Cloud too. Oh, and you guys can meet Missy today. She should get here later this morning."

"Are the others still asleep?"

"Yeah," Angeal chuckled. "So I was thinking we could do whatever this morning then meet back up for lunch and go from there."

"That's fine."

They crunched in silence for a bit.

"You and Yanna have a good time?"

"Angeal."

"I'm just asking."

"Yes, for a man you call 'socially inept,' it was enjoyable."

"I've never said that!"

"To my face." Sephiroth stabbed at his cereal. "Yanna invited us to the Warrior's Walk tonight. It's a memorial service."

"Yeah? Oh yeah, I remember now."

"And you were going to tell me when?"

"Sorry, Seph, I thought you knew. It's a big honor though. It's a very private ceremony."

"She said anyone who had a problem with it could go on one of the other walks, which means that someone _does_ have a problem with it."

"Since when do you care what other people think? It was her choice to invite us, you know."

"I know." Sephiroth washed his bowl and put on his gloves. "I'm going for a walk before it gets too crowded. Call me when you decide what to do."

"Yep, have fun."

Despite the hour—the sun had just barely risen—the areas that served as the various marketplaces were already teeming. He remembered from the diagrams the order of the product lines and the variety was impressive. Avenues of weapons, clothes, food, jewelry, farming equipment, tack, tools, blacksmiths, seamstresses, tattoo artists, kitchen equipment, and any other product from the towns and tribes snaked around wrestling pits and massive roasting animals. Vendors cried out to him in Kalani, Common, and something in between. He made a point not to look at anything or anyone too long as he wove his way through the crowd.

"General!"

He spotted Yanna at a nearby stall of jewelry and stepped out of the main path.

"You're up early," she said. "Good morning."

"Ma'am." He shifted, unable to find a spot that didn't put him in someone's way. Yanna laughed and took his hand.

"Come with me."

She led him further into the marketplace then out towards the stockyards. People gave trail to them, bowing slightly or saluting, but a few Kalani shot baleful looks at Sephiroth when he passed. Others cast such looks on the shiushan. That was…unsettling.

"Here we go." Yanna pulled him to an area with nothing around but fences, animals, and the odd barn or two. "Better?"

"Much."

"What are you doing out so early?"

"I'm always up this early. You remember Wutai."

"I thought that was just because we were sleeping on rocks."

"No. What are you doing up?"

"Oh, running the world is never done, you know that. Anything you would like to do today?"

"You're the local." Sephiroth swept his gaze over the field, rolling his shoulders. "I am so far out of my element."

"You don't really do vacations, do you?"

"You remember Wutai."

She laughed and started walking towards a large barn down the hill.

"I'm assuming the others are still asleep?" she asked.

"The plan was to meet for lunch."

"Okay. I can show you some real Kalani street food. Just don't ask what's in it." She hauled open the creaking barn door and led him inside. The thick, heavy smell of hay and animal met his nose as they walked down the stalls.

"Agreed." Sephiroth neared one of the stalls and tilted his head at the creature inside. A narrow head sat at the end of a thick, sinuous neck, powerful shoulders melting into long legs and flanks. Full, thick hair stretched down the neck and emerged from the rump, swishing against the thickly muscled haunches.

"I don't know what you call them," Yanna said. "But we call them '_arana_.' This one's Mika."

"How fast can they go?"

"Forty miles an hour, by your count, with a rider. Faster if they're scared or hungry." She came to stand next to him and held out her hand. The arana shook its man and nuzzled her palm, huffing. Short, coarse hair in a white and brown pattern covered the body, speckling into tan on the mane and tail.

"There used to be herds a couple thousand strong that ran the plains but now the herds are small and hide in the valleys."

A shrill whistle came from behind them and Yanna smiled.

"Oh, someone's awake." She crept to a stall in the corner and peeked over the door. A cream-colored arana sat curled on the ground and a tiny, spindly-legged infant with a white patch over his eye wandered up to the gate.

"This one was born yesterday," she said. "They haven't picked a name for him yet but his mother's Sasha."

Sephiroth hung his hand over the side and the little one sniffed his hand then sneezed.

"He doesn't like leather," he said.

"Guess not."

"You said yesterday?"

"Yes, they can stand within minutes of being born, run within a couple hours. Predators."

A great black beast raised his head in the next stall over, watching them with dark, wary eyes.

"That's Nado, the father. Threw a fit when they tried to put him outside."

"Are they always so protective?"

"Usually."

Suddenly her phone started ringing, scaring the foal. Yanna winced and snatched it off her belt.

"Sorry, sorry, hello? Uch, the signal. I'll be right back, General." She hurried out of the barn, leaving Sephiroth and Nado staring at each other.

"So will you sneeze on me too or will you bite?" he asked, leaning on the stall gate. The father blinked then snorted and bent his head to his trough.

"Nado doesn't like people."

Sephiroth turned at the new voice as a curvy, dark-skinned woman came in. She wore the same halter/skirt combo as many of the other women but in loud reds and yellows and decidedly lower cut. Beads dangled from her clothes and hair, clacking with her stride.

"Pleasure to meet you, General Sephiroth," she said in a thick accent. "My name is Tala."

"Ma'am." He bladed himself to her and Nado raised his head. "What can I do for you?"

"I…well, it's kind of embarrassing. I'm a great admirer of yours and I wanted to give you this." She held out a woven necklace of shells and polished stones.

"Oh. Thank you." Just a fangirl then. He took the necklace, fully expecting her to either start gushing or run away. Instead, she stood there expectantly and he realized she wanted him to put on the necklace.

"Technically, I'm not allowed to wear jewelry."

Sill that dopey look. He looped it around his wrist, tried an awkward almost-smile. Tala grinned and bowed.

"Many thanks, General." And she ran out. Sephiroth looked at Nado, who snorted.

"You too?"

A few minutes later, Yanna came back inside.

"Sorry about that," she said. "World was going to end if I didn't take it."

"Of course it was. Where to next?"

"Well, I was thinking we could see the smithy's a little further up and—What. Is. That."

"Oh." He looked at his wrist. "A woman gave it to me just now. Said she was a fan. She stared at me until I put it on."

Yanna grabbed his arm.

"What did she say? Who was it?"

"She said her name was Tala."

"Tala?!"

The beasts around them grew agitated.

"What did she say it was for?"

"Just a gift. What's wrong?"

Eyes flashing with more passion than he'd seen in months, Yanna ripped off the necklace and, with one quick twist, shattered it. Stones and shells flew everywhere.

"That was a betrothal necklace," she growled. "Putting it on meant you accepted."

"What?" It took a second for the sheer audacity to register. "Shiushan, I would never—"

"It's considered in very poor taste to go for someone outside the tribes and it's _illegal_ to trap someone like that." Her grip tightened. "Don't accept any more jewelry from anyone, and for Wolf's sake, don't put it on."

"All right. I'm sorry."

That seemed to shake her and she dropped his arm.

"It's not your fault," she said, sighing. "It's hers. Sorry."

Sephiroth stayed quiet and fell in step with her as they left the barn, a bit indignant over the whole situation. The Banorans would call it 'tacky' but Sephiroth thought 'outreageously deceitful' was closer to the mark. He hated liars.

A rapid thundering made him tense. Glancing up the hill, he saw a cart rumbling down, goods flying off, people screaming and running after it. Sephiroth grabbed a still livid Yanna just as the runaway cart barreled past.

"Sorry!" A man yelled, sprinting by.

"It's okay." Yanna pulled away, blinking. "Thanks. I didn't even hear it."

"Clearly. Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, thanks. You?"

"Fine." Something glinted in the grass by her feet and he reached down to pick up what appeared to be a silver pendant.

"Oh, that's mine!" Yanna snatched at it but he held it out of reach. The pendant sat in his palm, an interwoven, six-pointed star.

The symbol of his rank.

"Oh, Shiushan. Tell me you're not a member of the Silver Elite."

Yanna blushed bright red and grabbed at it again.

"It's just a distraction," she protested. "I like reading the forums."

"Do you have anything else?"

She wouldn't look at him.

"You do," he said. "Show me."

"No, just give it back."

"Show me and I will."

She stood, fluffing up like a little chocobo.

"Don't you bow up at me." He stepped closer, pulling his height into play. He could feel her breath on his chest and was almost grateful when she growled and stepped back.

"Fine." She picked at her skirt and showed her ankle, or rather the charm bracelet on her ankle bearing an apple, a book, a dog, a chocobo, a sword, and another star.

"You have all of them?" he asked.

"I like reading what people say!"

"But the Study Group?"

"I like starting fights, okay? Couple months ago, I posted a big long rant about how _Loveless_ is just a bad copy of _Wicked_."

"That was you?" A smile pulled at his lips. "Genesis was in a frenzy for weeks. Kept swearing about some ignorant bastard on his phone."

"Really?" Yanna preened a little. "Yeah, that was me. He got so mad in those posts. Sometimes, I'd argue with him even when his points made sense."

Sephiroth chuckled and handed the necklace back.

"I approve," he said, waiting for her to put on the star before walking off.

"Am I forgiven?" she asked.

"Yes. So long as I'm your favorite."

"I never said that."

"Do you have a necklace for the others?"

"Shut up."

He laughed again, enjoying the feeling, and followed her to the weapon's lane. She was kind of cute when she was flustered.

?

"So what sounds good to you guys?" Angeal draped his arm around the slender woman with black curly hair and blue eyes as Genesis haggled over some trinket or another. Celeste Abarthe, otherwise known as "Ms. A" or "Missy" to her students, had just arrived and was now chatting animatedly with Cissnei.

"I don't know," Missy said, pausing in her rant about third-graders and looking up girl's skirts. She kissed Angeal on the cheek, which met with fake gagging from the redhead.

"Hush, Gen," Angeal admonished. "You know the food better than we do. Something roasted or lizard on a stick or something?"

"I was thinking chocolate-covered bugs." Genesis loomed over Cissnei, who swatted him, but he pulled her into his chest. "I hear some of them are still moving."

"Eeewww…" Missy wrinkled her nose.

"Or we could do pocket pies."

"That sounds better," Angeal said. "As soon as Yanna and Seph get here, we'll start hunting."

"Have they been together all morning?"

"Think so."

"Ooohh," Missy crooned. "Do I hear a little something goin on?"

"Not to hear them tell it."

"Oh, goddess, Angeal, let it go." Genesis slung his arm around Cissnei's shoulders and started walking down the lane of…well, they weren't sure what this lane was for but it was sparkly and smelled good.

"Will the urchins be joining us?" asked the redhead.

"If you mean our students, no, they're over there with the other youngsters."

"Oh, cause you're so old," Missy said. "Hey, is that her?"

The elementary teacher pointed down the lane to where Sephiroth and Yanna were standing by a fire-eater. Yanna wasn't hanging on him, by any means, but the General let her much closer than usual and they seemed to be laughing about something he said.

"About freakin time," Cissnei muttered.

"Oh, who's the nosey one now?" Angeal said.

"You two are pathetic," Genesis said. His phone beeped and he swore at the message. "That stupid _Wicked_ idiot posted again. What crap did you say this time, you cretin?"

By then, Sephiroth and Yanna had walked up, Yanna showing the general something on her phone.

"Perfect," he said. "Ms. Abarthe, good to see you."

"Hello, General."

"Right," Angeal said. "Yanna, this is my friend, Celeste Abarthe, third-grade teacher at Middleton. Sweetie, this is Yanna, a shaman of the mountain clan and head of the land rehabilitation program."

"Oh, I just water the plants," Yanna said, stepping forward to give Missy a hug. "Wonderful to meet you, Celeste."

"Missy, please. All my students call me that."

"Okay. After lunch, I know a girl that can hook you up with some belly button rings."

Missy blinked in shock.

"How did you—"

Yanna just smiled and hugged the others in greeting. Or she tried to hug Genesis but the redhead was furiously typing a response.

"Infuriating son of a whore!" he yelled. "I'll show you 'tepid and unsatisfying.'"

"Are we still talking about a play?" Missy asked.

"Don't mind him," Angeal said. "He's butt-hurt over something."

"Oh?" Yanna and Sephiroth both looked like they were trying hard not to laugh, a bigger smile on Sephiroth's face than Angeal had seen in a long time.

"Should we tell him?" The shaman squeaked.

"You can."

Yanna collapsed in a fit of giggles and showed them her phone, the most recent _Wicked_ post in all its offending glory.

"Holy—Gen!" Angeal covered his mouth. "Gen!"

"Not now, Angeal. I must educate this useless cur on the finer things in life. _Rashomon_, my ass."

"Well, I was going to put _Ju-On_ but Sephiroth said this was better."

Genesis blinked.

"No."

The woman put her phone away, beaming.

"You?" Genesis asked. "I've been fighting with you the whole time?"

"Well, I helped today." Sephiroth nudged her and she reluctantly showed them her charm bracelet.

"You've been trolling us?" Angeal asked.

"For months. And, Angeal, you really should watch how you say things. Those girls are taking it the wrong way."

"You are…pure evil…" Genesis appeared to be having an aneurysm, wide-eyed and still. "Marry me!"

He pounced for her and she screamed, hiding behind Sephiroth, who laughed and shoved him away.

"I'm hungry," he said. "Cissnei, control your woman."

That launched an entirely new argument, the six of them bickering over each other until Yanna made an executive decision as The Hostess and led them to a stall by the lake. Then, bags of pocket pies—and a few obligatory sticks of meat—in hand, they hiked over to the rocks overlooking the lake and watched people jump into the still-cold water.

"What do you want to do after this?" Angeal asked.

"I saw some swords I wanted to check out," Genesis said.

"And I saw some really cute dresses closer to the stadium." Cissnei picked absently on an unidentifiable piece of meat. "I could hide Rekka in most of them."

"That's just frightening." Genesis threw a piece of burnt crust over the rocks. "Okay fine, we stuff our faces then you girls can be girly and we'll, I dunno, fight bears or something."

"That's hardly fair to the bear," Sephiroth said. "Don't you want to get some earrings?"

"You know you're just jealous."

"Sure, Gen."

"I do get all the girls."

"You want to jump in, Yanna?"

"No, thanks."

"Why, did you two duck behind a tent?" Genesis started making a club-beat noise and Yanna punched him in the arm.

"Nothing happened. And you!" She pointed at Sephiroth. "Stop smirking or I'll push you in the lake."

"Yes, ma'am."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

So the afternoon passed as most do when it's hot and the only thing to do is shop, fight, or eat. The generals picked up a few blades and pieces of leatherwork then had a second lunch and watched younger soldiers and warriors wrestle in the pits. The girls took the task of shopping a little more seriously, Yanna personally taking the responsibility of 'hooking them up.' Missy ended the day with three belly button rings made of set jewels and carved bone, matching earrings and necklaces, five woven/beaded belts from the sea tribes, two halter dresses, and a bag of treats for her students. Cissnei, true to form, bought an engraved set of throwing knives and a leg harness, three dresses, two skirts, and four tops, with matching jewelry, of course. Yanna even found some things for herself, mostly herbs from the coastal and far desert regions, and a couple sets of hair combs.

After their excursions, they all decided to hide from the sun for a little while, coming out when it was time for dinner. Koda, just entering the lanky awkwardness of his pre-teen years, met them at the base of the hill.

"Hi, General!" His voice cracked a little but Sephiroth ignored it and held out his hand.

"Koda. Good to see you. How have you been?"

"Great!" He bounced on the souls of his feet. "So you're going on the Walk, right? Papa said to bring you for dinner before you go."

"Well, lead on, good sir," Genesis said. Koda grinned and ran off, stopped, waited a second for them, then ran back with all the playful impatience of a puppy.

_Gaia, now there's two of them_.

"Come on! Grandmother has a bunch of stew made!"

Yanna's family welcomed them at their tent, offering steaming bowls of stew and thick, course bread before they could even say 'hello.'

"Thank you," Sephiroth said. Yanan's father smiled and motioned for them to sit around the fire.

"You are all welcome here. And the rest of you can stay while we're on the Walk or you can go see the dances at the main circle."

"We appreciate it," Angeal said. "When do we go to the mountain?"

"After the sun sets." Yanna walked up from behind them, dressed in a black linen, halter gown with her hair twisted on top of her head. The full skirt dragged behind her and when she sat down next to Sephiroth, the general made a point not to look at her bare back.

"Remember," she said. "No gloves."

"Yes, ma'am," they said and tucked in.

For her part, Yanna ate very little and when they were done, she led them to the base of the mountain in silence. Other warriors and healers stood in two groups, all dressed in black with paint and feathers on their bodies. Yanna swept her hands down her arms and swirling black marks appeared on her skin.

"Cousin," Kalin greeted, clasping her hands. "Generals. Thank you for coming."

"Once the ceremony starts," Yanna began, "there's no talking, no music. Just us."

"Almost time." Kalin looked towards the west. "If you're ready, cousin."

The two shaman bowed to each other then split to their respective groups, Kalin with the healers—mostly women but Yanna's father was there too—and Yanna with the warriors. Most of the warriors were old, grizzled but still hale, although a few were around their age. Each seemed lost in their own thoughts, some holding a trinket or sash in their hands.

As one, the shamans picked up large, shallow wooden bowls and went to each participant. Man and woman alike rubbed what must be the clay dust on their hands and forearms. When Yanna reached the three of them, dusk was falling, making her look like some kind of spirit in the graying light. Sephiroth looked at the dust and blanked his face.

Red clay. Dried blood.

Beside him, Angeal and Genesis had sobered considerably, their minds recalling the men they'd lost. Now that they were here, it was difficult not to.

Sephiroth rubbed the dust on his hands, dark, reddish brown staining his pale skin. Yanna met his eyes. The muscles in her face were taut and her eyes shone. She was trying not to cry. He set his jaw and looked over her head at the mountain.

He didn't want to do this.

Kalin gave a sharp whistle and the Walk began. No one really acknowledged anyone else, absorbed in memories and the hike itself. Names rose unbidden in his mind.

_Corporal David McClane, Kalm._

_Privates John and Carson Villefski, Midgar, Sector 7._

_Major James T Potter, Rocket Town._

He'd lost a lot of men, a lot of boys, over his career. True, since he and the others had come to power, casualties had dropped considerably but any death was painful. And he hated how often he thought in terms of 'acceptable casualty figures.' He hated thinking of them as numbers.

After all, he knew what that was like.

_Sergeant First Class Shannon Mosby, Mt. Corel._

_Warrant Officer Joden York, Cosmo Canyon._

_Second Lieutenant Ardell Fox, Junon_.

And after every mission came the obligatory report and debriefing. The paper work was mind-numbing, but it still made him think of what he could have done differently. Such questions came less and less since he became the General of the Armies but even when he knew he did everything he could, the guilt would drive him to train into the small hours of the morning.

_Private First Class Burell Flay, Midgar, Sector 12._

_Captain HB Lorence, the Southern Islands._

_Battalion Commander Alexis Gurneshell, Banora._

It wasn't fair. Looking at the other warriors, Sephiroth felt a moment of kinship. They weren't genetically enhanced but they fought just as hard, hurt just as deeply. Others grieved, family and friends, but he always thought it was different for them. They were responsible for the boys. It was their job to bring them home alive.

If he had children, he imagined losing one would feel like this.

At long last, they reached the top. The festival ground spread below them, torchlight twinkling across the three mile span. Some of them had started crying on the way up and others hit their knees. Swords, bones, spears, staves, skulls, and long-dead flowers littered the clearing. Two metal bowls filled with water sat in front of the memorial pile and Kalin and Yanna picked them up.

One by one, the warriors and healers washed the clay off their hands and dropped their trinkets in the pile. Angeal was first of the three, then Genesis. Sephiroth went last and, for a brief moment, he hesitated. This was his burden. He accepted this when he accepted the position. This was just part of the job.

Yanna gently tapped his foot with her own. He looked at her and he saw that same sad, knowing look from Wutai. It was as if she was looking sideways down a mirror, seeing the rank and armor and the name, and yet seeing…underneath. Silent tears ran down her cheeks but she lifted her chin, strong despite the pain.

"Let them rest," she whispered. "Let be."

Sephiroth looked at the water. It was just water. There was nothing magical about this. Nothing would change the situation or bring them back.

But maybe that was it. They were gone. And he had more than enough to deal with concerning the living.

Sephiroth washed his hands and held the bowl for her. Closer to the edge, Kalin said something in Kalani then both he and Yanna took the bowls and threw the water over the cliff. They watched the water fall, a sheet of grey and silver in the moonlight.

Yanna spoke in Kalani, sweeping her hand out across the empty space, and walked back over to the generals.

"You can stay as long as you need," she said quietly. "There is no judgment here."

But Sephiroth felt uncomfortable seeing another culture's grief so he followed Yanna back down, Angeal at his heels.

"Where's Genesis?" Yanna asked.

"He'll be back when he has to charge his phone," Angeal said. "Thank you for that." He rubbed his eyes, laughing ruefully. "Guess it hit harder than I thought it would."

Sephiroth nodded but didn't say anything.

So they climbed back down in silence. By the time they reached the others, Angeal was back to his normal self, jumping into the dance circle with Zack and the girls. Yanna laughed and pulled Sephiroth to a blanket sheltered from the chaos.

"It must be pretty jarring," she said, sitting down. "Gen calls us 'bi-polar.'"

"It's…different."

"You don't have to be polite. We're weird. But it's set up this way for a reason. The rest of the families feast and celebrate so that when we come back, we're reminded that life is still loud and bright and _moving._"

"Something worth fighting for."

"Exactly."

Out in the circle, Koda leapt over Cloud's back, whooping, and Yanna waved.

"May I ask what that mark is?" she said without looking at him. Sephiroth glanced down, wincing at his still bare hands and the tattoo of a slashed zero on the web of his right.

"If you don't want to say, that's okay," she said.

"No, it's fine." It actually…really was. "Professor Gast gave this to me when I was four."

"Four?" Her head whipped around. "Why? I mean…"

"Hojo made him. He said either Gast marked me properly as the first subject of their experiment or he would do it." He looked at her. "Gast gave me this symbol instead of a normal 'zero' to remind me of…possibility."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"'Zero' means 'nothing' but it can also mean 'the beginning' and 'the end.' Whatever happened to me, he said, whatever Shinra did to me, there would come a day when I couldn't blame them for what I did. I would have to decide what kind of man I would be. This," he held up his hand. "Is a blank slate."

Yanna hummed and gently touched the mark. He forced himself not to flinch.

"What day was that, General?"

"You first." He dropped his hand. "When did you first decide to become a shiushan?"

"Oh, I always wanted to be. My mother, my grandmother, her entire family…I loved helping people, making them feel better." Her eyes grew distant. "There was one man…I was sixteen. He had been gored by a wild boar. The pack brought him in for me to heal and it came out that he had been abusing his eight-year-old daughter. I could've killed him then. I could have driven him mad and no one would've said a thing. I almost did."

"What stopped you?"

"My brother, actually. He was a toddler then but he was a little sponge. He wanted to do everything I did and…well, that was terrifying in itself. What did I know about teaching? I saw him outside playing and I thought about my oath as a Shiushan. It's annoying how much like Angeal this sounds but how could I expect him to value a man's word if I changed the rules when I didn't like them?"

She gave a small shrug.

"If I accomplish nothing else in this life, my brother growing into a good man will be enough. So I reported the disgusting wretch and the warriors…dealt with him."

Shaking herself, Yanna smiled at him.

"Your turn," she said.

"All right. I was seventeen, at my first post in the North. The base commander, Colonel Murron, had his family with him and they would invite me to dinner almost every night."

Sephiroth shook his head at the memory.

"I was so inept. I knew nothing of real social relations. So much of what I am now is because of what he taught me, what he probably thought he never had to teach anyone. But one night, his wife, Marilyn, mentioned their son, who had been killed three years prior on a mission to the western continent. His daughter, Heather, started crying and fled the table.

"That's when I made the connection between the men I killed, the men I…let die, and the people back home. It was so obvious once I saw it but, at the time, I was so overwhelmed that I left. Marilyn came after me, thinking I was afraid of dying like that. Marc had been my age. But it wasn't the dying that frightened me. It was…causing that pain. I knew then that I would use whatever power I had to minimize as much of that as I could."

Yanna nodded and hugged her knees to her chest.

"I have a confession, General. The power I have in the tribe, I can drop anyone. Very few people wouldn't support me, fewer would outright challenge me. It gets…"

"Intoxicating."

"Yeah. It's hard to do the right thing sometimes."

"Hard to know what the 'right thing' is." He looked up at the stars. "So you never told me what your tattoos mean."

"I didn't? You mean you dragged me all through the jungles of Wutai and I didn't share my deepest, darkest secrets?"

"No, there was no connection at all. I should have just left you there."

She stuck her tongue out at him and he grinned.

"Well, I have the North Star on my back." She leaned forward to reveal a stylized star/bird shape edged in dots between her shoulder blades.

"It's a shaman thing. I'm either leading the people or I'm facing them with the star at my back."

Extending her arms, she showed him the thin branches and dots running along the underside of the wrists.

"These represent the World Tree and deer tracks for community and support, and these," she pulled up her skirt a little, "are wolf tracks for wisdom, swiftness, and leadership."

He looked down at the wolf paws and sunbeams on the tops of her feet and that silly charm bracelet. Chuckling, he turned to watch the dancers.

"That anklet."

"Shut up."

"If it wasn't awkward talking to you before…"

"It's awkward talking to me?"

"Yes."

"Well, you're not the life of the party either."

"I don't look at M-rated fanart."

"I never!" Yanna elbowed him then winced, glaring at his armor.

"See?" He smirked. "All-Father doesn't like it when you're mean."

She huffed and a companionable silence fell. Out in the circle, the dance had turned into some kind of showcase where people could take turns dancing by the fire. It was, predictably, very drunk and very uncoordinated.

"I do have one other tattoo," Yanna said.

"Show me."

"No." She glanced sideways at him and he felt a strangle tingle down his spine.

"Why not?" he asked.

"You made fun of me."

"You have my rank in your cleavage." He chanced a look as she smiled and pulled the necklace out from under her neckline.

"Show me the tattoo." No, his mouth was not dry but the dress was…flattering.

"No."

"Because it's in a compromising place?"

"Maybe."

"It would besmirch your honor if I saw it?"

"Besmirch. I like that."

"Thought you might." He propped back on his arm. "If I can guess what and where it is, will you show me?"

Yanna raised an eyebrow at him.

"Really?"

Maybe he'd gone too far? He shrugged.

"No one has to know."

A strange look crossed her face and she turned away. Panic flared in his chest. Definitely too far. He knew he shouldn't have tried flirting—

"Okay," she said.

"What?"

"If you can guess what it is, where it is, _and_ what it means, I will show you."

"Agreed."

"But you have to be discreet. If you start shouting out random body parts in front of my grandmother, I will hang you up by your hair and let the children use you as a piñata."

"I'm always discreet."

"Really." She pinned him with a challenging look. "And Masamune is…?"

"A time-honored weapon."

"Yeah, we have a word for that."

"Oh?"

"Compensation."

"I notice you aren't saying anything about Angeal's Buster Blade."

"Yeah but he doesn't use that. You do."

"Ah."

"You're not arguing."

"I don't have to."

"Really."

"Shiushan," he smirked, "The only thing left to do is show you and, with my luck, your grandmother would appear out of nowhere and throw me into the pot."

"That's true." She laughed, giggled really, and rubbed her arms. "Well, this went to the gutter really fast. Why are you over here again?"

"I don't dance."

"Now that is not true. I've seen pictures of you at balls."

"You've seen promotional shots. Not the same thing."

"What are you—"

Just then, Koda burst out of the circle, winded and sweaty, and stumbled over to them.

"Sister, come dance!"

"I'm busy. No! Nonononono no hugs!"

But Koda was already rubbing his gross self all over her, making her squeal. Another woman in scarlet with wild hair and more beads than a store front grabbed the boy around the waist and swung him around. Yanna screamed and leapt up to give her a hug.

"Gnereal, this is my best friend in the whole world!" she cried. "Meara, this is General Sephiroth."

Sephiroth stood, bracing as the woman gave him a critical look.

"Eh," she said.

"Meara!"

The shaman didn't get a chance to say anything else as the musicians herded the dancers out of the circle, the dance morphing into some raucous parade. Meara tried to pull Yanna into it but she hesitated, glancing at Sephiroth. The general just smiled and stepped aside with a nod. The happy smile she gave him as thanks was more than worth it as she twirled into the dance.

"Having fun, Seph?" Zack called from somewhere in the middle.

"Looks like you are."

"Come on! Jump in!"

Sephiroth held up his hand but followed the growing mass of people, keeping to the edge as the dance flowed and snaked through the grounds.

They would all be so hungover in the morning.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

That night, the general dreamt of flesh and heat. Such dreams weren't so strange, hormones being what they were. But it had been a long, long time since the subject had been someone he knew. The impact, the searing torture was so much more intense. Seeing her like that, feeling her around him, under him…He'd never heard that voice. He'd never seen that fire in her eyes and likely never would. But he'd seen her angry, indignant, driven. He could only imagine that passion directed elsewhere, her hands on his body, his fingers tangled in her hair.

He woke up sticky and sweaty like he hadn't since he was in the Academy. Peeling his hair off his back, Sephiroth got up and took a long, cold shower before retreating to the comfort of his uniform. Still, the room felt stifling and he could smell the dream on the sheets.

Slipping through the house, Sephiroth stepped out into the cool air, turning his face into the wind. The grounds were much more subdued this morning. Three miles of raucous merry-making had shifted into three miles of quiet chatter in the early morning haze. There were no hawkers this early but there was still a steady stream of business to the various stalls and shops. Sephiroth turned down what had become Fried-on-a-Stick Street and started hunting for something to eat that wasn't lizard. Not that he was above lizard—he'd eaten his share in Wutai—but hen sounded better. Maybe he could find that stall with the cock's combs and hard boiled eggs.

A light, gentle tune reached his ears as he rounded one of the stalls and he followed it past three or four residential camps to a large tent facing another avenue. Ashwood poles held up the considerable porch of scarlet and gold fabric while bells and chimes welcomed the shopper into a bounty of jewelry and rich fabrics. Yanna sat in a low, curved chair in the middle of the floor, well away from anything fragile, with a small child in her arms.

She smiled when she saw him but didn't pause in her singing. Clamping down on any thoughts of last night, Sephiroth folded his hands and waited at the edge of the porch until she waved him over.

"Good morning," she said softly.

"Good morning." He crouched down next to her. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Moka, Meara's youngest. She and her sisters took the older kids to get baths before the lake gets too crowded. This one's too little yet."

The shaman smiled warmly at the chubby little boy sleeping on her shoulder, apparently oblivious to the string of drool trailing down her dress.

"Didn't expect to see you so early," she said.

"Internal alarm."

"Oh, I hate that. How did you find me?"

"I heard you singing."

"Over all of that?"

"I've become very skilled at tuning out background noise. Half the conversations with Genesis are just static."

Yanna chuckled, one hand coming up to rub Moka's back.

"Have you eaten?" she asked.

"Not yet."

"There's a good rice place a couple tents over, or a pita place."

"How long until Meara returns?"

"Not long, a half hour or so."

"I can wait. If you don't mind."

"Why would I mind? Pull up some floor."

Sephiroth shifted into a kneeling position and turned his gaze out on the passerby. Traffic had increased a little but the stalls probably wouldn't see heavy flow until afternoon when the city folk came for lunch.

Next to him, Yanna grinned and ducked into the baby's blanket.

"What?" he asked.

"Is that why your boots are so tall?"

"They're combat boots."

"Of course they are," she said, smiling. "I just never realized how…pretty they were."

"If you're trying to say they're hooker boots, I've already been told that."

"By who?"

"Angeal."

"Okay, cause if it was Genesis, I'd have to smack him. His are just as bad."

"He's the reason I got these actually. I hate the clunky, standard-issue trash."

"And Gen wanted to see how you'd look in hooker heels?"

"No, he maintains that he looks better."

"It's the earring."

The heavily swaddled bundle in her arms started to fuss and she rolled her eyes.

"Sorry." Shifting him to her other shoulder, the tribeswoman starting to sing again. Sephiroth let his attention drift. The song was different than the ones she sang in Wutai. Those had a definite rhythm, one where he could almost hear the drumbeats that accompanied them, and even the song on the train had been…heavy. This sounded almost whimsical and he caught himself wishing she'd sing in Common.

Moka, however, seemed less content and continued to fuss and squirm.

"Okay," she said. "Okay okay. General, there's a bottle on the far right table behind me. Could you grab it please?"

He obliged and she deftly swung the baby around to try feeding him. This calmed him almost immediately and she sighed.

"Such dramatics. Thank you, General."

"You're welcome." He tilted his head. "How old is he? A year?"

"Almost. He's all leg though. Gets that from his papa. You'll be taller than me when you're a teenager." She kissed Moka's forehead but he ignored her.

"What were you singing?" Sephiroth asked.

"An old sea lullaby I heard a long time ago from a…spice-trader? Something like that. I've found certain songs work better on certain kids."

"You're this close to all of her children?"

"I try to be. I used to only see them at festivals like this but since I started with Shinra, I've been able to visit a lot more."

At least some good came of it. Sephiroth looked out at the other tents, feeling the sun beginning to burn away the fog and chill. Through the increasing noise of business, he could make out the sounds of older children and women's voices cutting in sharp, precise vocal checks.

"I think they're back," he said.

"Already? What time is it?"

"Almost seven."

"Oh, I guess that would be enough time." She stood just as Meara and four women with hair as wild as hers rounded the corner with their thundering horde. Sephiroth stepped back while Yanna chatted with the women for a few minutes, silently willing the dozens of little fingers away from his hair.

At last, Yanna handed Moka to his mother, gave the women hugs, and corralled the busy children into kisses of their own.

"Ready to get something to eat?" she asked.

"If you are."

"Sure, let's go." She looked back over her shoulder, a shadow passing over her face.

"Shiushan?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you all right?"

"Hm? Oh!" The shaman spun, batting at the hair by her eyes. "Just thinking. What do you have a taste for?"

"Something fried and unhealthy."

"Ah, wonderful. I feel like being bad too. This way!"

?

Genesis found them an hour later, munching on yet more indiscernible fried-stick food.

"Hey, Gen," Yanna said.

"You look like hell," Sephiroth said. Genesis swore at him with a smile, tactful enough to speak in Wutaian while he gave Yanna a hug.

"What are you two doing up at this ungodly hour?" he asked.

"It's eight in the morning," Sephiroth said.

"Unholy."

"The General trusted me not to poison him," Yanna said.

"It was terrible," Sephiroth added. "I thought I was going to die twelve different times."

"Next time use the toad's heart," Genesis said, kissing her on the forehead. "Your father's looking for you. Something about Koda's training?"

"Okay, thanks. Did you guys want to meet up for lunch again?"

"Sure, honey. We'll call you."

"Okay. Bye, Gen. Bye, General. Thanks for eating breakfast with me."

Sephiroth nodded, watching her disappear into the now very busy crowd.

"Genesis."

"Hmm?"

"You know their culture."

"Mm-hmm." Genesis stole the last of his fried whatever and started picking it apart with his fingers.

"Why would Yanna look sad about children?"

"Oh. That." The redhead tossed the used stick over his shoulder and led them towards the weapons' lanes.

"You can't tell anyone," he signed, his hands moving in the old code he and Angeal created years ago. "But, apparently, Yanna was engaged."

"What?" Sephiroth responded in kind.

"A long time ago, ten years, maybe more. Anyway, he cheated on her with her best friend."

"Meara?"

"No, some other woman. Tala, I think? It was a huge scandal—"

"Tala tried to trick me into marrying her."

The redhead's eyes narrowed and he swore under his breath.

"Then that means she's widowed and on the prowl for Sucker Number Two."

"So the bastard's dead then."

"No, they broke up almost right after they moved then she got married and moved away. Like I said, huge scandal. And if that was all that happened, it wouldn't be as bad but nobody's proposed to Yanna since. General belief is there's something wrong with her."

Sephiroth set his jaw, looked around at the Kalani and town folk.

"She's almost thirty," he muttered. "She'll never have children."

"Not by any Kalani man," Genesis said. "Don't tell her I told you. She doesn't talk about stuff like this. It would break her heart."

"I won't say anything."

"Okay. Um, the puppy kept prattling on about the sword competitions and Angeal wanted us along for the ambulance ride."

"Fine." Sephiroth followed, his fists clenched at his sides.

The morning passed quickly enough. No one was impaled or burned beyond recognition, which Sephiroth that was an admirable achievement, especially with the way he was feeling. Genesis played the flamboyant drama king to the hilt, drawing the laughter of the girls and good-natured challenges and protests from the boys. Angeal only gave him a questioning look once but Sephiroth shook his head. Now was not the time. He still wasn't sure why he was reacting so strongly to Genesis' information but, for some reason, he wanted to strangle the cheating fool with his bare hands.

Yes, the shaman worried and micro-managed to the point of being neurotic. Yes, she obviously bottled everything up and never said 'no' even when it was in her best interest. Yes, she had bad taste in movies. But, goddess take it all, she was a good woman. She couldn't have possibly changed that much in the last ten years. It wasn't in her character to drive someone away like that. If anything, she held on until she'd squeezed every last drop of hope and joy out of a person and hung their choking husks on her mantle. If there was the smallest chance of her helping or fixing something, she put her head down and stomped through like a behemoth.

"Coming, General?" Cissnei called. Sephiroth followed the group to a nearby public food circle and sat down with Genesis.

"You've got to stop trying to set the ground on fire," Genesis signed. Sephiroth glared but took a deep breath and nodded.

"There you are, General."

Both men tensed as Tala approached with a bowl of thick stew. She smiled brightly at him but completely ignored the rest of the group.

"I thought you might be hungry," she said. "Please, take this. I made it myself."

"Oh, that's very kind of you, darling," Genesis said. "But we've already eaten."

The woman sent a frigid look his way and opened her mouth to repeat the plea when Yanna swooped in, knocking the bowl to the ground. Tala shrieked and spat something in Kalani. Yanna snapped back, her eyes on fire. The soldiers were up in an instant, the others snapping into a circle around the two women.

Suddenly Tala said something and Genesis stiffened. Yanna froze then smacked Tala hard in the face, spat on her, and stormed away. Tala followed, screeching and crowing like a maenad.

"No," Genesis breathed. "No no _no_!" The red general tore after them, Sephiroth on his heels.

"Genesis!"

"She just accused her of premarital sex," Genesis said.

"And that warrants a conniption?"

"She's a holy woman, Seph. It's a capital offense! If she doesn't win this duel, she could be stoned!"

They followed to one of the smaller arenas, the former occupants having already been thrown out by eager attendants to the fight. Within minutes, an entirely different audience had formed and Yanna and Tala walked into the center dressed in much shorter skirts. A man shouted then they leapt at each other.

At first, it was just a lot of dust and screeches. Sephiroth wasn't familiar with Kalani combat techniques but he knew ground fighting. The tactics they used were all of the dirty tricks he'd learned since graduating the Academy, up to and including hair-pulling and eye-gouging. He tried to tune out the cheering crowd, tried to quell the nausea at how excited they all were.

Suddenly the women broke apart. Yanna clutched her stomach, glaring. Sephiroth smelled blood.

"Cheater!" Genesis yelled. "_Critka!_"

Others took up the chant and, as Tala advanced, Sephiroth could see the glint of metal claws on her right hand. Yanna circled, wary, while the tramp kept her right hand tucked to her abdomen, supposedly to hide it. For a long moment, they flinched, each testing the other. Tala broke first, wildly swinging vicious talons at the shaman. Yanna crouched, taking the woman's weight in her shoulder. They fell back and the dust flew. The crowd was nearly rabid now, save for one voice yelling 'stop.'

Yanna surfaced on top. Gripping Tala's right hand, she slammed it hard into the ground. Tala screamed, her wrist broken, and tried to strike with her other hand but Yanna pinned it to her chest. Rearing back, the shaman punched her in the jaw. Tala bucked, screaming obscenities. Yanna just punched her again. And again. And again. And—

Sephiroth's blood ran cold. She shed blood because she had to, because it was a necessary evil. She wasn't…Her lips pulled back in a disgusted grimace, her teeth bared, and he could see the fire of bloodlust in her eyes as she rained down blow after blow.

The voice sounded panicked now and a thin man with a scrawny beard clambered over the barricade. He ran for them, swinging his arms and shouting. Yanna reeled back in shock, scrambling away from them both as the man fell to his knees next to Tala.

Any time they told that story, for the rest of their lives, Genesis always maintained that he never saw Sephiroth move. One second, the General was at his side. The next, he was behind Yanna, an unmovable wall for her to fall into.

"I'm sorry," the man on the ground babbled through his tears. "I'm so sorry, Yanna. Please don't hurt her anymore. She's carrying my son."

Yanna's knees gave out and it was only Sephiroth's grip that kept her from falling.

Around them, the crowd grew more subdued and the grey, robed figures of four elders marched through.

"What is going on?" the one in front demanded. "Akren?"

The sniveling fool bowed to them even as he cradled a bleeding and broken Tala to his chest.

"This is my fault, Elder," he said. "I convinced the honored Shiushan to have relations with me while we were betrothed and my sin has come back to haunt me. But it's not the child's fault. Please, just spare my son."

Yanna crumpled in his arms, the most heart-breaking sob wrenching from her throat. The elders turned to her.

"Is this true?"

The shaman couldn't answer.

"I see." The elder motioned to the warriors in the crowd. "Take her."

The audience erupted with mixed reactions and Sephiroth tightened his grip. He would fight them all. He would break his cover and fly her away from this wretched place if that's what it came to. He was spared such a decision when Kalin ran into the arena, a pale, anxious Koda in his wake. Koda ran to his sister, who couldn't manage a hug, and Kalin hit his knees in front of the elders.

"My honored cousin is innocent," the warrior insisted. "Please don't do this."

"Our laws are clear," the elder said. "Unless it was rape, your cousin was a willful participant. The penalty is death."

"No!" Kalin leapt to his feet and whispered desperately in Kalani. Sephiroth watched, noting the exits, the crowd, the positions of his men.

Finally, the elder nodded and led the way out of the arena. Kalin turned to his cousin.

"I'm going to defend you," he said. "Stay with the General. I'll come find you."

Pale and shaking so badly she could barely walk, Yanna nodded and let Sephiroth take her out into the market. Koda and Genesis followed.

"What happened, sweetie?" Angeal asked when they got out. "Are you okay?" He took her hand, noting the bruised and bloody knuckles.

"I'm fine." Her voice sounded distant, hollow. Sephiroth made her sit down and Koda climbed into her lap. The others sat around them, the boys and Cissnei on the outside with their weapons ready.

"Really, guys, I'm fine."

Koda wrapped his arms around his sister and Sephiroth let them both lean against him. Yanna didn't protest again and they waited for Kalin to come back with the verdict. No one bothered them. No one even looked at them. So much the better. Sephiroth was just _itching_ for Masamune.

But his treasured sword was safely at home and of no use here. He shifted, feeling the knife she'd given him rub against his calf. It would do.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Hours passed. Missy had gotten snacks at some point and Koda gamely tried to keep up the energy, joking back and forth with Zack when the younger soldier found them. Through it all, Sephiroth remained silent, letting the younger ones distract them.

At last, Kalin approached with her father, grandmother, and another woman about the grandmother's age. They stood and Yanna's father pulled her into his arms.

"Well, we worked it out," Kalin said, his face drawn.

"So she's okay?" Zack asked. "She won't get in trouble?"

Kalin swallowed hard.

"The elders have decided that you will be examined." He motioned to the old woman. "Mother and three other grandmothers will verify your purity. If you're found whole, the punishment will only be fifty lashes to Akren's one hundred."

The group erupted in protests and the warrior-shaman held up his hand.

"It's better than it was," he said.

"He's right," Yanna said. "Thank you, cousin. Truly."

"Kalin will administer the punishment," her grandmother said. "Akren's father will do his."

Yanna's father started crying and buried his head in her shoulder.

"Kalin." Sephiroth glanced at Genesis, who looked grim. "What happens if they can't verify it?"

The devastated look on the warrior's face told him all he needed to know. Koda looked confused but when her father held her tighter, he cried out and clamped onto her legs.

"It's okay," Yanna whispered. "It's okay. It'll be fine."

"Time to go, my love," the grandmother said. "Zula."

The other old woman gently but firmly pried her away. The others scrambled to give her encouraging words, to which she replied with more assurances, until Zula led her down a different lane.

"Angeal." Sephiroth stepped out of the way as the grandmother moved to speak to her men. "Take them back. Keep the men calm."

"Yes, sir."

"What?" Zack exclaimed. "You can't be serious!"

"Let's go, Zack." Angeal gripped the boy's collar and led the rest of them towards the bungalows. Cissnei simply vanished, no doubt to carry out his order in her own way.

"There's one more thing, General," Kalin said. "Because of the incident in the barn, you are considered the offending party."

"So I have to attend."

"Yes."

"Genesis."

"I'll be there." The redhead looked ready to spit nails or throw the entire festival into flames. Sephiroth sent him a warning look.

"How long does the examination take?" he asked Kalin.

"Not long."

"What are they examining her for?" Koda asked. The men blinked.

"Uh…"

"Well…"

"You see, son, there's this thing…"

Sephiroth rolled his eyes.

"They're checking to see if she's still a virgin."

"How?"

"Ever heard of the hymen?"

"Seph!"

Koda looked up at the adults, confusion on his face.

"I don't understand."

"Don't worry about it, boy." The grandmother patted his head. "Come. We'll send someone for you when it's time." Corralling her men, the old woman spoke in rapid-fire Kalani, sounding at once comforting and chastising.

"What's the punishment?" Sephiroth asked.

"A cat of nine tails."

"Scourging?" The general rounded on him. "They're going to scourge her for a decade-old crime?"

"No. They're going to scourge her for their own ends and use this as an excuse."

"And Kalin?"

"A male family member has to administer the punishment to prove to the elders that they're handling their own problems. Her father would fall apart."

The poor man was already falling apart. The grandmother seemed caught in that horrible space between fury and the need to think. Sephiroth could sympathize.

"And if we don't attend, it will be a grave insult."

"You're the strongest warrior of our tribe. It could start another war." Genesis glanced up at him. "What are you orders, General?"

Such a loaded question. Sephiroth clenched his fists, wishing he'd brought Odin or Shiva.

"I will not let this degenerate any further," he said.

"No, sir."

The General turned baleful eyes on the stadium.

"Be ready to move."

?

Sephiroth didn't remember the next two hours. Genesis was a white-hot ball of righteous anger, the only constant in the roiling sea of people. The tribes knew. Clans and villages gathered to themselves. Some hid. Others, the traditionalists, pushed and pulled the undecided. He could dimly hear the roar as the mob gained strength, pouring into the stadium, and he had to swallow his nausea. This was just another spectacle to them, just another side of the entertainment.

The soldiers saw it very differently. If the grim warning of General Hewley wasn't enough to set them on edge, seeing their commanding officer walking through allied territory like he was back in Wutai certainly was. Everything about the men shifted to trained readiness. Children and loved ones were taken home. Weapons were found and secured. He would be proud of them later.

Right now, he let one of the elders' servants lead them to the seats for honored guests. The old men welcomed them, casting derisive looks at Yanna's father and grandmother seated below. Sephiroth's phone rang and he passed it to Genesis.

"Lazard," he said when he hung up. The feel of the crowd shifted and a scarred, hulking brute of a man stomped into the center of the arena where someone had secured a large post. Two equally large men hauled Akren by his arms and lashed him face first to the wood. The crowd tensed in anticipation as the first man picked up a cat-of-nine-tails and began the count.

"His father," Genesis said. A bitter smirk crossed the redhead's face when the fool started flinching. A lash later, he was screaming. Sephiroth could see the disgust in the father's body language, the stiffness of his back, the force with which he struck his own son.

"Bad form to show pain," Genesis crooned. "It's just shameful."

Around them, the father's disgust infected the crowd. Mutterings and jeers flew like insects over cut wheat and some of the braver ones threw food and trash into the arena. Others, including one of the main servants in their section, kept count.

When the father reached one hundred lashes, Akren was a shuddering, sobbing mess. The father threw the whip to the ground and stalked out, leaving his men to drag the fool out by his wrists.

Below them, Sephiroth could hear Yanna's father start to hyperventilate and the grandmother reprimanding him under her breath. The General didn't look at them. He kept his gaze trained on the main entrance.

"Here we are," an elder said. "This should clear our account with you, General Sephiroth."

He would not feed this sanctimonious bastard his teeth. His jaw clenched, Sephiroth watched Kalin and Yanna walk in. The mood of the crowd shifted, eager, _predatory_. He heard pity in a few voices but it was the hypocritical, back-row brand that gossipy women spewed behind their hands.

One of the elders, he couldn't bother to keep track of them, stood and said something in Kalani then Yanna knelt in front of the post. Kalin secured her arms and the count began for her. She flinched. Genesis started bouncing his knee, surely aching to show them why he was second-in-command.

Sephiroth kept count, his insides twisting with each strike. She never made a sound.

Half-way through, the crowd perked up with the air of people seeing an interesting turn in a game. At forty, they started counting out loud. Each number grew louder, more…enthusiastic.

"Forty-three! Forty-four! Forty-five!"

He swallowed vomit.

"Forty-six! Forty-seven! Forty-eight!"

Her father's agony drowned in the face of their excitement. She was being strong. She was being a good Kalani woman, taking her punishment as was right and honorable.

"Forty-nine!"

He couldn't fix this. She had tried to so hard to help and this was her thanks?

"_Fifty!_"

The crowd went wild, cheering and clapping as if a hero had just been born.

"There. With that unpleasantness out of the way." The elder stood and smiled at Sephiroth. "On with the festival."

Sephiroth glared and hurried to where Kalin was exiting the arena with Yanna in his arms. Other men of his and Yanna's houses acted as a shield against the pawing, cheering crowd. Meara followed, screaming and clawing at those who dared hold her back.

"Gen." Sephiroth motioned to Kalin and his second nodded. Veering off, he caught Meara by the arm and whispered in harsh, urgent tones. She glared but vanished while Kalin reached his family's tent and carefully laid Yanna down on a palette.

"Go with Genesis," Sephiroth ordered, taking off his gloves. The warrior-shaman looked at him with dazed eyes until Genesis returned and bodily dragged him out of the tent. He would be plastered within an hour, vomiting within two. Genesis would make sure Meara and the soldiers kept him from remembering anything until tomorrow night.

Sephiroth shut the tent behind them, leaving himself, the father, grandmother, and Koda.

"Inbred swine!" the woman fumed. "No one calls a ten-year-old offense to court!"

"This is our fault," Sephiroth said. The grandmother scoffed, her hands working furiously with different herbs while the father tried to staunch the bleeding with scraps of linen.

"They've been after our family since I took the oath," she said. "We're adaptable. We accept change and that just isn't proper."

The father moved to cradle his daughter's head, voice choked with grief.

"How could they do this?" Koda asked, crying. "She's a good person. They like her, everyone does."

"They did this because they could." He knelt next to the shaman, whose wounded body was convulsing in shock. "Koda, hold her feet."

The grandmother moved to steady the woman's shoulders.

"Hurry," she urged.

His hands glowed green as Cure flowed into her body. Yanna whimpered, the tiny sound of pain making him work even faster. Flesh and muscle closed under his touch. Torn nerves and vessels reconnected. Yanna bucked and Koda threw himself on her legs.

"I know, mija, I know." Her father swept hair away from her sweat-drenched cheek. Sephiroth tried not to look at her face as he worked. Cure accelerated the healing process without draining the patient and, at his level, the drain on his own reserves was negligible. But the materia did nothing for the pain.

"I'm almost done," he muttered. A few more agonizing minutes and her back looked as if nothing had ever happened. "Turn her over."

They carefully maneuvered her onto her back. She lurched.

"Seph—"

"I know." He swept his hand over her stomach and chest. She grabbed his hand and he met her eyes for the first time since this nightmare started. He saw confusion, desperation, hurt. He saw fear and his rage burned higher. Nothing, not attempted rape, not Makofall, not Jenova had instilled such terror. But her own people, the same men she had given her life to…

He held her hand until she passed out and after.

"She cannot stay here."

"No." The grandmother pursed her lips, her eyes red and wet. "They will rip her apart for the slightest crime." She looked at him. "You'll take care of her."

"Yes, ma'am. You have my word."

The old woman nodded and said something to the father. The man looked stricken but he didn't say anything.

"We will come for you," she said.

"She'll be dehydrated when she wakes and probably hungry."

She waved him off and he left with one last hand on Koda's shoulder. Tseng met him outside.

"Transportation has been arranged," he said crisply.

"No one touches her."

"Understood, General."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The festival was over. The market still operated and people still shopped and danced but those of the allied houses and any still loyal to the army left and didn't come back. Sephiroth didn't give Yanna a chance to protest his decision to take her back and, truthfully, she didn't seem to have the strength to. Her family cried when they left. She smiled, said she was 'fine.' She was fine when Sephiroth took her back to his home. Fine when Cissnei moved in with them to keep things proper. Fine when she went back to work, fine when the others asked after her. She couldn't even be bothered with how awkward it was to be in his house. She was fine. Yes, thank you, General. What would you like for dinner?

Only at night, in the deep dark that was supposed to be for rest, did anything change. He heard her cry in her sleep every night, a mournful, soul-wrenching sound. When he asked her about it the first time, all he got was a confused look and another 'fine.' It was maddening. And there was nothing he could do except endure. So he went to work too, answered questions, issued statements, gave orders, supervised the next academy class, planned for the training seminars. Afterwards, he would come home for dinner and they'd exchange idle small-chat. Sometimes they'd eat in complete silence until he went upstairs and played on his grand piano.

"I didn't know you played," she said the first time.

"Professor Gast used it as a memory exercise," he said. "Would you like me to play something?"

She had smiled a little and sat down on the floor. He couldn't see her face but he could hear her heartbeat and breathing change. It was possibly the only emotion she let herself show. But then, she had always loved music.

Twenty-nine days of this…existence passed. Twenty-nine days of feeling useless. In that time, the routine had become so monotonous he had trouble distinguishing one day from another. The only break came when Cissnei became concerned about her cycle, or lack thereof. Yanna insisted nothing was wrong but the Turk was more stubborn than either Yanna or Sephiroth had given her credit for so the shaman made a doctor's appointment.

She came home that afternoon an addled wreck with a mangled brochure in one hand and a bottle of valium in the other.

"I couldn't take the shoe-horn thing," she admitted, her face red with shame. "They said to come back with somebody I trusted and take some sleeping pills before I went. I don't want to talk about it."

So they didn't and the routine started again.

Then, one day, Angeal came into his office.

"General."

"Yes, Angeal, what is it?"

When Angeal didn't say anything, Sephiroth looked up.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Lena Harris," the dark one said. "She's a widow to one of the boys this last time."

"I know who she is. What about her?"

"She—reports say she had a miscarriage, sir. They had a baby shower Saturday and the baby wasn't moving. They went to the doctor Monday and the cord had wrapped around its neck. They can't take it out until tomorrow."

"When was she due?"

"A few weeks."

"Dismissed."

"Sir." Angeal saluted him and left.

?

"Gen, would you relax?" Yanna rolled her eyes at the red general's dramatics and turned down the road to Sephiroth's house. "Yes, sweetie, I'm taking it slow. And Cissnei's with me all the time. We might even have lunch with Angeal's girl, Missy, next week."

She pulled up to the two-story, Wutaian-style house and hesitated, a cold feeling settling in her stomach.

"Hey, I gotta go," she said. "Yeah, I'll call you later."

As soon as her feet touched the ground, panic gripped her chest.

"General?" she called, running inside. The bottom floor was empty. "Sephiroth?"

She raced upstairs to his room and barged in only to hear retching from the bathroom.

"Sephiroth, are you okay?"

The General knelt next to the toilet, holding his hair and looking thoroughly miserable.

"Oh, what happened?" she asked. "Bad food?"

"Something like that," he muttered. "Go downstairs. I'll be there in a minute."

"Don't be silly." Yanna moved to put a damp washcloth on his forehead when something rattled by her foot. She reached down to pick up an orange bottle with three pills inside.

"My…valium?"

"Just go downstairs."

The world dropped out from under her.

"No…no, you can't do this. No—how could you—"

"Get _out_."

"You selfish bastard!" She punched him in the face. "You stupid, selfish coward!"

"Yanna, I can explain."

She ran.

?

"Gen, I messed up," Sephiroth peeled out of his driveway, one hand on his phone. "She caught me with her pills. She's gone."

"What?! Seph!"

"I don't need a lecture, Gen. I need to find her."

"Right, I'll chew you out later. Where did she go?"

"I don't know. She's on foot."

Genesis swore.

"All right, I'll cover the west side and call Angeal."

Sephiroth tossed his phone in the passenger seat and drove east towards the plains, swearing in every language he knew. How could he be so stupid? He knew better. He…oh Gaia, what had he done?

Thunder rolled behind him. Of course. Slamming his foot on the gas, Sephiroth circled around to the north. If something else happened to her, he'd never forgive himself.

Clouds of dust caught his eye and he slowed to see Yanna striking the ground with a tree branch. Dirt and grass flew everywhere and, as he got out of the car, he could hear her incoherent screaming.

"Yanna."

She whirled. Dirt and tears stained her face and, from the scrapes, it looked like she'd landed hard.

"You!" she yelled. Her dark eyes burned with wild fury.

"Yanna, I'm—"

She spat something in Kalani and pointed at him with the stick.

"I thought you were better than that! I looked up to you!"

"Yanna."

"How could you try to _kill yourself_?!"

Sephiroth blinked.

"What? No, I wasn't—"

"_You were supposed to be safe!_"

Her eyes widened and she choked, covering her mouth.

"It's not fair," she sobbed. "It's not fair…"

She hit her knees, curled in on herself as she sobbed into the ground. He could hear her heart breaking with every breath. Kneeling, he put a hand on her back and let her cry.

?

"She's awake."

Angeal looked up at the ceiling, listening, then looked at his friend.

"Do you want us to go with you?" he asked. Sephiroth sighed and stood up.

"No," he said. "I have to do this alone."

Steeling himself, the general walked up the stairs of Genesis' villa to the second floor. He let his fingers trail along the ornate wallpaper, the hardwood banister that smelt of fresh polish. This was it. This was the breaking point. Or…their breaking point. He knew he hadn't been the best friend, the best…whatever he was to her. But he had tried. She had shown such heart and he was the General of the Armies. He thought he'd be able to take care of one woman.

But it had gotten too personal. Or—no, he couldn't blame that. This was his fault. And he would face the consequences.

Too soon, he reached the room Genesis had let her use, his house being the closest to where Sephiroth had found her. When he opened the door, all of this, all the teasing and the good-natured meddling from before, all the lunches, all the late nights playing piano, all the almost-flirting, would end. And it would have been his fault. Again.

He reached up to knock, saw the tattoo on his hand, and knocked with the other.

"Come in."

He opened the door. Yanna sat up in bed, her eyes red and puffy as she hugged her knees. Moving to just inside the room, he folded his hands.

"I was given injections since before I could walk," he said. "Throughout my career, I started experimenting on my own to help influence my sleep schedule or my energy levels. By Makofall, I was chemically dependent on fifty-seven different substances, including Mako. I only knew of about fifteen.

"Everything stopped after Makofall and the withdrawal nearly killed me. Genesis found me on the floor in a puddle of my own vomit. I wasn't trying to commit suicide. One of the widows miscarried and…the pills were there and I took them."

Yanna opened her mouth to say something but he shook his head.

"I won't ask your forgiveness," he said. "I betrayed your trust and I can't make up for that. Genesis says you can stay here as long as you need to and Cissnei has been notified. The rest of your things will be brought over by the end of the week."

He bowed, refused to look at her.

"I am so sorry, Shiushan."

Yanna stayed quiet and he left. Angeal and Genesis stood when he reached the living room but he looked past them, walked straight out to his car.

"Call us," Angeal hollered after him. Sephiroth barely acknowledged him as he cranked the engine and drove back to his house. He needed a mission. He needed something physical, something to _kill_. Something to distract him from this searing pain in his chest and throat.

His fingers called Lazard without a conscious thought.

"General Sephiroth, what can I do for you?"

"Director. Tell me you have something abroad."

Lazard hesitated.

"I do have something," he said. "But are you sure? You took yourself off assignment until further notice."

"This is the notice. I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Yes, General." The director hung up and Sephiroth twisted his hands on the steering wheel. It was better this way. It wasn't safe to associate with aliens, after all.

?

The sun was setting when Yanna emerged from the bedroom wrapped in a robe of cream silk. The house was empty save for the gentle beams of amber sunlight and she slowly padded across the hardwood floor. Genesis sat outside on a wicker-and-padded loveseat, smoke from his cigarette rising in lazy swirls.

"Sleep well, lovely?" he asked. Yanna stepped out onto the back porch and pulled the robe closer.

"My head hurts," she said.

"Yep."

She looked out at the garden and the way the roses trailed up the fences.

"They used me. Didn't they?"

Genesis blew thin grey smoke.

"Yes, honey. They did."

Her chest buckled as if he'd shattered her breastbone and she sat down hard next to him.

"I gave them my life," she whispered. "I did everything they asked. And they repay me like this? Is this how you felt?"

"Pretty close."

"What did you do?"

"I threw a few tantrums, broke things, had hot, angry, hate-sex with random women."

"Does it ever…stop?"

He leaned his head back on the couch and touched her cheek.

"Sometimes," he said. "Sephiroth would die before hurting you."

Yanna hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them.

"I don't want to talk about him."

"Okay. Just saying."

"Yeah." Wiping her eyes, she sniffed and stared at her toes. "So what now?"

"That's the beauty of it, darling. Anything you want." He took a puff of his cigarette and looked up at the darkening sky. "Aren't the stars just breathtaking tonight?"

Yanna laid back on the couch and watched the stars blink into sight as the last rays of the sun died away. Beside her, Genesis started to hum something she didn't recognize. She closed her eyes and let him sing her to sleep.

?

The next morning, Yanna took a long, hot shower. She cried some more and she wasn't exactly sure how she'd gotten back to her room but she felt better now. Like her insides had been scrubbed clean with sand. It was raw and it hurt but it was nice in its own way.

Drying off with a towel much fluffier than the ones Sephiroth had, the shaman pulled a spaghetti strap dress over her head and raised her hands to braid her hair. She stopped. Single women of the tribe braided their hair. To attract men. To attract _husbands_. But after the Culling…well. She had no need for that now.

Instead, she shook out her hair and went downstairs.

"Good morning, m'lady," Genesis said from the dining room. "Hungry?" He gestured to the table laden with fruits, sausage, crusty bread, and different jams.

"Thank you, Gen." She sat down and reached for the bread and pear jelly. "How are you?"

"I have a beautiful woman in my house and no one's trying to kill me. I am fantastic." The red general sat down at the head of the table and took a drink of his coffee. "How are you, darling? And no braids? Scandalous."

"I'm...I think I've made a decision."

"Oh?"

"I'm going to give Joanna the rehab program. She's been doing a great job since I started working on the festival and I think she can take the next steps. And I…I think I want to go to medical school. I've taken classes since I started with Shinra but I want to be official."

"Oh really." Genesis gave her a coy smile. "Look at you. You realize you can probably skip a lot of classes and just get certified in what you already know, right?"

"I know. But I want to learn more. I'm a healer and I want people to respect me as more than just some woman who works with you guys or that crazy lady that makes plants grow. I want them to see _me_."

"Goddess, does that sound familiar." He held up his coffee cup. "Cheers. I think you will make an excellent doctor."

"You think so?"

"I'd go to you."

"Yeah, but you flirt with everything."

"Not everything, dear. I do have taste. Now eat up. I'll take you to the college before I go to work."

"Won't you be late?"

"Please, who's going to yell at me?"

She smiled and took a bite of her bread.

"Thank you, Gen. And uh…could you tell Sephiroth I'm not mad? I was just scared. I thought…I thought I'd driven him to suicide."

"I'll tell him but I think it would mean more if it came from you. Give it a little while, get yourself settled, then worry about him."

"Are you sure?"

"He's a big boy, darling. He'll be okay until you get yourself sorted. Oh and Missy and Cissnei have declared that you are going shopping with them Saturday."

"Do I have a choice?"

His smile told her all she needed to know and she grabbed a nectarine.

?

At first, the guidance counselors humored her to please Soldier First Class Genesis Rhapsodos, Five-Star General of the Foreign Theater. They presented Yanna with a placement test usually given to transfer students and assured her it was merely a gauge of where she needed to be. There would be no penalty if she got anything wrong. That was Wednesday.

On Friday, Yanna got a call from the man with a deep, slightly accented voice.

"Ms. Yanna," he said. "This is Dr. Mendelson, Department Chair. How are you today?"

"I'm fine, thank you. What can I do for you, Doctor?"

"I understand you took a transfer aptitude test a few days ago."

"Yes, is something wrong?"

"No no, quite the contrary. Would it be a terrible imposition if we met this afternoon? I would like to speak with you about your future studies."

Confused and slightly nervous, the shaman walked the three or four blocks to the university and headed up to the medical department. As she padded across the laminate floors and stone tile, she marveled again at how much money healers of the outside world actually earned. Kalani healers weren't destitute by any means, but they expected to be fed, protected. It would be unthinkable to charge an entire year's crop to pay for one visit yet city-folk never bat an eyelash.

A tall, broad-shouldered man in a tailored suit stood when she entered the registrar's office.

"Ms. Yanna, I presume." He held out his hand, his grey eyes kind but almost sleepy underneath neatly trimmed brown hair. She shook his hand.

"Dr. Mendelson. What did you want to talk about?"

"I think it would be better if we spoke in my office. This way, please." He led her to a large office a few hallways back and shut the door. "First, I would like to formerly apologize for our department. I understand we did not fully appreciate your background but I assure you, such a lapse will not happen again."

"My background."

"It is general assumption that tribal craft is more mysticism than medicine but from your phenomenal test results, that assumption is clearly false."

Yanna sighed in relief.

"You scared me. I thought I had done badly."

"No no no, don't misunderstand. You did very, very well. Well enough that I must ask why you are here in the first place. You obviously know enough to practice anywhere you like."

"Well, that's the problem." She looked down at her fingers, started playing with her nails. "No one takes me seriously. Even…People just seem more apt to listen to you if you have a bunch of letters after your name."

Mendelson nodded with a little smirk.

"Unforunately, our society is bound to paper. That diploma on my wall is worth nothing, not even the one gil to make. It is the knowledge I gained in earning that diploma that is important. But if I didn't have that, all hell would break loose."

"That's what I'd like to avoid."

"Of course." He threaded his fingers together on the desk. "A proposal then. Based on your test results, broad subjects such as internal medicine and obstetrics are familiar. However, subjects such as our medical terminology and healthcare policy are unfamiliar, as expected. I would like to work with you to design a curriculum in which you take the necessary classes in accelerated programs lasting no more than six weeks at a time. During those classes, you will take tests on those subjects in which you are strong and earn the credits and whatever applicable certifications."

"Gen-General Rhapsodos said I could test out of a lot. What degree would I work for though? I'm a Shiushan. I have to know everything about everything. We don't have specific areas like you do here. I'm better at field medicine and children but I know how to do everything else."

"There is actually a doctorate for that. We call it 'osteopathy' or 'wholistic medicine.' Mental condition, emotional state, nutrition, home-life, work, everything is considered in the diagnosis itself. And you are legally certified to act as necessary. Your hands wouldn't be tied."

"That would be wonderful." She straightened and took a breath. "Okay. What do you need me to do?"

Dr. Mendelson beckoned her closer and opened a thin three-ring binder.

"If you have the time, I would like to go over this with you," he said. "But I warn you: accelerated programs are extremely difficult. It will take up most, if not all of your time and energy."

Yanna tilted her head, studying the older man. He was probably in his forties, aging but still handsome with a strong jaw and steady hands.

"We're both adults," she said. "You know what happened at the festival."

"I do."

"Then you know I'm not exactly busy right now. I need this, Doctor. Please."

Dr. Mendelson looked at her for a second then nodded.

"Let's get started then."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"The area is secure, General."

"Good work." Sephiroth turned down the radio attached to his armor straps and stepped into the caves. This would be his sixth, First-worthy hunt in three weeks. Reports of monsters had practically deadlocked trade to Modeoheim, as if the weather and terrain weren't already intimidating. The scouting party had come back with a few of the old signs of monster attacks, bones, large disturbances, broken trees, but there hadn't been reports of large monsters in a long time. The war was over. Soldiers could protect their homes now, both as members of the army and the police. Faced with that threat, only the stupid, easily-killed monsters tried to hunt the returning wildlife.

But that was in populated, well-defended areas. Places like Modeoheim in the middle of a mountain range that never saw above fifty-four degrees were a little less secure.

Sephiroth carefully crept deeper into the mountain, boots crunching on frost-bitten bones and dried blood.

"A den?" a man to his right asked. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. Helmets, bits of cloth, the odd pin or two glittering in the shine of their flashlights certainly spoke of human carcasses dragged home for dinner. But something felt wrong. He sniffed, smelling the air shift further ahead, and walked towards the back of the cave. A tunnel stretched out and down.

"Cover me," he said.

"Sir."

Sephiroth plunged into the darkness. For several hundred yards, the tunnel felt and smelled like any other animal pit, dank and disgusting. Then the tunnel started to level out, the uneven stone smoothing into chiseled floor. Mako burned his nose and his stomach twisted.

"Sephiroth to control," he said into his radio.

"Copy."

"Be advised I've found evidence of human activity."

"Copy that, General. Starting a backing."

"Negative. Pull the men out of the cave."

"Yes, sir."

Hefting his much shorter katana in his hand, Sephiroth turned off his flashlight and let the Mako in his eyes guide him down the ever more inhabited tunnel. At last, it opened into a large chamber filled with tables and chairs covered in frost. Chemistry equipment covered one table, some of the beakers long broken, and bookshelves lined the wall extending to his left. A lab in the middle of nowhere. No prize guessing who this was.

Something skittered in the dark. He whirled, slashed, and a body fell hard at his feet. He narrowed his eyes, nudged the body with his boot. Humanoid, or at least bipedal. Blueish-purple skin stretched over too long hands and obscenely bloated shoulders. Teeth, what was left from his counter, stretched from jaws too thick and bulging yellow eyes stared blankly from under a twisted brow.

Sephiroth turned away, tried not to breathe in the smell of decay on the creature's lingering breath. He could hear the echo shift when he moved and he stopped, shining his flashlight into the far corner of the cave.

The official report said it was an avalanche triggered by the General defending himself from a monster attack. No one questioned his swift departure. He _had_ almost been crushed.

?

"Hey, Sephiroth, um…it's me, Yanna. I just wanted to check on you. Hope you're doing okay. I'm not mad, if that's what you're worried about. Not that I think your whole world revolves around me or anything. Um…call me. Or text. Whichever's fine."

Yanna hung up the phone, wincing, and set about making dinner. It felt so nice to be in her own apartment, doing her own thing to her own schedule. Granted, the schedule was grueling. With Dr. Mendelson's help, she had successfully tested out of six classes in the last three weeks and the classes she actually had to sit through were going well. The names were really getting her but once she knew what they called things, the processes themselves were easy to recognize. It was hard and exhausting and she often went to bed with a massive headache only to wake up in a few hours to study some more. But no one expected her to move heaven and earth. They just wanted her to do her work, be responsible for herself. It was so wonderfully liberating.

She also stopped dressing in all white. Missy and Cissnei had taken it as a personal challenge to get her into the brightest, most colorful things they could. Now, strong reds and yellows, bright blues and teals filled her closet. Most were still dresses for comfort but she enjoyed matching her clothes to different types of jewelry. It made her feel pretty.

If only she knew the General was okay. Genesis and Angeal insisted he was, else they would have heard, but she couldn't shake this nagging feeling that something was wrong. The two five-stars wouldn't tell her even if they were worried so she was left to spin on her own. Cissnei had promised she would tell her anything she could but, so far, nothing. Sephiroth was just requesting a lot of missions abroad. They did that sometimes. One or more of them would get stir-crazy in the new peace and want to go fight things. It's just how things worked.

Sighing, Yanna spooned out a bowl of her chicken and rice and sat down on the couch. All she could do was pray and hope, right? She grabbed a blanket and, turning the tv to a cooking show, tucked into her dinner.

?

The next time she opened her eyes, she was standing in the middle of the Upper Plate of Old Midgar. People bustled by in hurried, grey blobs with their heads bowed. Neon signs lit up the gloom, advertising everything from jewelry and gourmet dining to oil checks and tire rotations.

Yanna blinked. This was…what? She shook her head and started walking down the sidewalk, one hand touching her temple. Old Midgar had largely been abandoned. Only vagrants and criminals lived there now and there was little to no power except what they could steal from the new cities. This shouldn't be here.

A flash of red caught her eye and she looked down. Umber lines trailed from the back of her hand, up her arm to her shoulder and down the other arm. A dream then. She was in a dream. But whose? She was having dinner and certainly not in the proper state for out-of-body therapy.

A car horn blaring made her jump and she quickened her pace. She had never been to the mega-city, had only seen pictures. But everyone knew the Shinra building was the largest in the city. Maybe she could find answers there.

Unfortunately, 'large' seemed to be a bit of an understatement. The building was massive, a mountain of concrete and steel. She nearly fell backwards trying to look up to the top and she still couldn't see all of it. There must have been hundreds of floors to that thing. The entire military base of New Midgar plus all of the diplomatic and business compounds, and all of the residential areas could easily fit in the bottom fifty stories. What could they possibly have in a building that size?

Sighing, the shaman wove through the people to the entrance. Grey and white tile met her eyes, drab and depressing and forgettable. One long desk stretched across the back of the lobby between two sweeping staircases. Elevators lined both sides, their bells ringing constantly with arrival as people milled in and out of the cars.

Boys no older than fifteen or sixteen huddled in a nervous, chattering mass off to the left before an older man—a warrant officer?—ushered them through a set of double doors. Yanna followed, one hand rising to hold the door for someone else but her fingers passed right through the push bar. She rolled her eyes. Lovely. One of _those_ dreams.

Before her, the hall full of skittery teenagers emptied out into a large auditorium. Hundreds of other boys were already sitting in the cushioned flip-seats, each row with a soldier of their own. None had a uniform that she recognized. New recruits maybe?

Excitement rippled through the crowd and everyone fell quiet as the lights dimmed. Director Lazard took the podium on the stage and started extolling the virtues of Shinra and Soldier, in particular. Next to him stood a bored looking Sephiroth, his hands folded in front of him.

"I can't believe they're buying this."

Yanna flinched, spun around. No one was paying any attention to her.

"Fools."

Well, the language was certainly Sephiroth's even if the voice sounded a little off. Yanna crept over to the stairs and up onto the stage by the general. He looked so _young_. He couldn't have been more than twenty, maybe younger. She wasn't sure how fast he climbed the ranks during the Wutaian War but he couldn't have been the General of the Armies for very long. Her vision of him grew sharper while the audience slowly grew muddled and grey.

"Is this your dream then?" she whispered. Green eyes glanced sideways at her and she froze, feeling the sudden urge to dive behind the curtains. She swallowed.

"You've never cared about my Walking before," she said. "Why now?"

The general stared back out over the recruits. Rigid. Professional. Perfect. Yanna licked her lips and, after one last glance, slipped backstage.

This changed everything. She knew he had different abilities because of the Calamity and the World-Breaker certainly understood shamanic Dreamwalking. But Walking required time and meditation, physical contact with the patient and a lot of calming herbs either inhaled or ingested. It was dangerous to Walk into another person's mind. Even if they willingly submitted to the treatment, digging too deep or going too fast could trigger sudden, if not violent reactions. It wasn't unheard of for Walkers to come back damaged and some Walkers didn't come back at all.

The Other Yanna almost didn't. If Jenova had gotten a hold of the Black Materia or if the World-Breaker hadn't had such a strong connection with her, the shaman would have buckled under the sheer weight of Jenova's will. It didn't matter that they were in her body instead of a patient's. In some ways, that made it worse. Yanna had been trained since she was a girl that having some place to retreat, having a threshold you could back over, was one of the strongest lines of defense. To not even have that…She shuddered at the thought. In the end, it had taken her, the World-Breaker, her father, her grandmother, Kalin, and one of the strongest Walking techniques to pull out the Calamity. But the Soul-Catcher technique was destructive, painful, ripping out the hundreds of tendrils from every dark place in her heart. The Other Yanna had survived the trick, barely. Whether she would heal was another issue entirely

Yanna had thought long and hard about the crisis, and she had talked with Kalin at length. Walking was a dying art but Makofall had spurred a general revival in the Old Arts. Put simply, if it could happen once, it could happen again. They needed the protection and they needed to train any hopefuls in the Way, to keep them from succumbing to selfish desires. Jenova was an extreme example but it had worked so far.

But she had never told Sephiroth any of that. She shouldn't be in his head. Genesis may have mentioned Walking in passing but the General cared about facts, about science. As much as he hated Shinra, scientific inquiry and logic had become too much a part of him to simply believe she could do something amazing. He had only just accepted that she could manipulate energy in a body to heal.

So why would he call her like this? How he did it was moot. She would ask later. The very idea that he could yank her out of her body at any given moment was enough to make her hide in the bathroom for a week but that wasn't an option here. So what did he want?

Outside, thunder clapped and the sky opened.

"You're not supposed to be back here, ma'am." A soldier with a helmet obscuring his face gripped her arm. "I'll have to escort you out of the building."

Ah. The defenses were starting and her ability to interact was shifting. So something backstage was important. Yanna looked around as the soldier started walking her to the side entrance, away from the audience. Closets, metal props covered in dust, tables with half-finished projects.

Then an ornately carved metal door caught her eye, half obscured by a scaffold in the back.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Nothing, ma'am." He started bodily hauling her.

She chewed on her lip. It was generally better for the patient if the Walker worked _with_ them, convincing the various aspects of their unconscious to allow them access to different parts of the mind. Deceit and resistance was not encouraged. But this was Sephiroth. If he wanted to lock her out, not even the mental equivalent of the Sister Ray would help, and she was fairly certain that if she got back out to the lobby, she wouldn't be able to get back in.

Taking a deep breath, Yanna tripped. His grip faltered for just an instant and she ran for the door.

"Stop!" he yelled. "Stop or I'll shoot!"

Bullets pinged against the scaffold. She ducked, tripping for real on a piece of rogue lumber, and slammed into the door.

"Get back here! That's restricted!"

She fumbled with the lock, flinching at ricocheting bullets, and just as the soldier reached for her arm again, she fell through the door.

"Oh goodness! Are you all right?"

Kind hands helped her back to her feet and she smiled at a woman dressed in burgundy taffeta.

"Thank you," Yanna said. "I'm so clumsy."

"Think nothing of it." The woman smiled at her through a mask decorated with jewels and black feathers. "Come. The next dance is starting."

Yanna made to follow when she caught sight of herself in a floor-to-ceiling gilt mirror. Emerald green silk hugged her figure in the waist-cinching style of the old world. Boning held her posture just so while displaying her cleavage in a much more blatant way than she was used to. Layers of silk flowed down from her tiny waist, the edges of the skirt embroidered with silver thread. Her hair had been swept up and away from her neck, curled and pinned and decorated with gardenia blossoms. Emeralds rimmed in diamonds hung from her ears and throat and when she reached up to touch them, she noticed the elbow-length white gloves.

"You look beautiful."

She turned, facing a ballroom of grand proportions with tables of luscious food and dozens of masked dancers twirling to the strains of violins. A cruise ship, or some kind of ocean liner. Before her stood a man dressed in black velvet edged in silver. His boots came up to his knees and a long, flowing cape was thrown rakishly over one shoulder. He extended a gloved hand to her, smiling through the simple black mask covering the top of his face.

"May I have this dance?" he asked. She blushed and took his hand.

"I'm sorry, I think I forgot my mask," she said as he led her into the dance. She didn't really know how to dance like this but dream logic worked for her too.

"Don't apologize," he said. "You look lovely. May I ask your name?"

"Yanna."

"Yanna. I like it."

The voice was right this time, had the right timber, the right rumble, but it still sounded wrong. Squinting in the dim chandelier light, she looked up at his face. Green eyes smiled down at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked. She blinked, ducked her head.

"Sorry. I just…you remind me of someone."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Good. I think. We had a…I guess it was a fight and I haven't talked to him in a while."

"Sounds like you miss him."

"I do." She met his eyes again, desperation rising in her chest. "I wish I could tell him I'm sorry."

"No, darling. I think he knows, and if he doesn't, he doesn't deserve such a flower anyway."

Genesis! That was it. He sounded like Genesis when the red general was trying to be smooth. But why would Sephiroth try to sound like him? He didn't have any problems with social situations anymore. Right?

Someone bumped into them and Yanna glanced over her shoulder on reflex. Blood smeared on her dress.

"Oh no."

A storm raged outside and she looked at the windows. Rust peeled the frames, moth holes left the floor-length curtains in tatters. Mold spread like gangrene out across the delicate wallpaper. Around them, the fetid, moist scent of decay rose in bursts. One man's hand rotted and sloughed to the floor. A woman's jaw came unhinged as she laughed. Another woman's carefully pinned hair slid away, leaving a bloody patch where her scalp used to be. Another man stood by one of the tables, chomping on a drumstick while his belly opened and spilled offal all over his shoes.

Yanna gagged, covered her mouth.

"What is it, dear?" Sephiroth asked. Tears stung her eyes and he stopped dancing, his mouth turning down in concern. "Yanna, what's wrong?"

"This is a dream," she whispered.

"A good dream, I hope."

"No. Sephiroth…" She reached to take off his mask but he caught her wrist. The music stopped, replaced with the sound of sliding flesh and splattering blood. Thunder rolled outside and the waves pounded against the sides of the ship. She trembled in his arms. Death was never a good sign. She tried to take as deep a breath as she could without vomiting.

"You can't see them?"

"See—?" Sephiroth looked over her head, confused, then his eyes widened. "A dream. What…you have to leave. Right now."

He grabbed her wrist and plowed through the dancers.

"Wait, stop!"

Too late. The climate of the dream had shifted. The defenses had been triggered. As one, the zombie horde turned on them, grabbing, pulling, ripping, biting. Sephiroth grabbed a candlestick to fend them off as they ran from the ballroom.

Outside, the hall had disintegrated in rust and mold, the metal pockmarked with reddish-black holes. Sephiroth dragged her down the hall, their feet squelching on the rotted carpet. Zombies groaned and lurched behind them then something banged above them. Metal screeched and a thick, sinuous arm snaked through the jagged opening towards them.

"A kraken?" Yanna yelled. "Really?"

"I read a lot." Sephiroth pulled her around the corner. "What are you doing here? I thought Dreamwalking required a willing patient."

"I thought so too but here I am."

"Am I supposed to know it's a dream?"

"It works sometimes."

The tentacle grabbed her ankle and she fell hard on her shoulder. Sephiroth stabbed it with his now broken candlestick. The creature shrieked, loud and long as the thunder, and slithered away. Yanna scrambled to her feet. Her skirt lay in a mangled heap and she sighed.

"I liked that dress."

"You can buy one when you get out." He glanced back at her. "How do you get out?"

"You called. You tell me."

"How the hell did I call you?"

"I don't know! I don't know. I was just sitting on my couch eating dinner and then I was at the old Shinra building and there were all these recruits and—"

"Shinra." Sephiroth stopped, looked at her. "How deep are we?"

"I don't know. But clearly it's important." She motioned to the zombies making their way around the corner. "Try to think. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I…" He frowned. "I was on a mission. There was a cave-in."

"Did you lose anyone?"

"No. No, they had all pulled back. I was alone."

"Why were you alone?"

He shut his mouth.

"Sephiroth. Why were you alone?"

"We should keep moving."

"Sephiroth." The shaman stretched her legs to keep up with him. "Sephiroth, look at me."

"If we can get on deck, we should be able to find a way to get you back."

"General Sephiroth, look at me and take off the mask!" She grabbed his arm and he whirled.

"_Don't._"

Her heart pounding in her chest, she set her jaw.

"Take. Off. The mask."

"I said—"

She snatched at the mask. Teeth snapped, slathering jaws, burning eyes. She screamed and fell back. The beast fell with her and she struggled to keep the snapping maw from her face. Wicked claws dug into her side. Will battled against will. It was all she could to keep the teeth away when every assault on her mind made her vision blur.

The beast howled, its furred body rippling with muscles, and lunged.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Stubborn woman."

Yanna woke to a little finger poking her cheek. She blearily opened her eyes, wincing at the bright, white light.

"You shouldn't be here." A little boy sat on his haunches near her face dressed in loose grey pants and a long-sleeved shirt. She stifled a groan and slowly sat up. She must be getting rusty. A Walk hadn't hurt this bad in years.

"Where am I?" she asked. The boy stood, his full height coming to maybe her waist. Dark brown eyes studied her from behind thick, black bangs.

"You need to go," he said.

"I'm not done yet." She rubbed her forehead, took a deep breath. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

The boy smirked.

"You're not stupid so don't pretend that you are."

Yanna gave him a flat look.

"Hello, Sephiroth. I don't remember you ever having black hair."

"I could have." His eyes flickered but the emotion was gone just as quickly. "Are you going to leave?"

"I can't."

"Why?"

"He needs me."

"You're mad at him."

"No, I'm not."

"Liar."

She licked her lips.

"Fine," she said. "I was. I still am, I guess, but not enough to leave. He called me for a reason and I would hate myself forever if I didn't try."

"So you're here to ease your own conscience."

"No, I—I don't have time for this." Standing, Yanna brushed off her hands and looked around. Nothing but white.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"Deeper."

"I figured that. Why?"

"I thought that was your job."

She stuck her tongue out at the boy and started walking. The landscape didn't change, she didn't expect it to, so she closed her eyes and _reached_. Sephiroth pulled away like mist but he was there. Sort of. She sighed. Walking in a Kalani mind was so much easier. She knew what the symbols meant, knew what to look for. But this was like performing brain surgery when all you knew was the heart. The raggedness of it all frustrated and scared her. She was a healer. She was supposed to be better than this yet a squid and a few zombies had her totally freaking out. Her grandmother would be ashamed.

"Something happened on that mission," she said. The boy walked a few steps behind her, not with her but keeping a watchful eye nonetheless.

"And he wouldn't let me see his face. Something he's ashamed of. He tried to be Gen, he tried to be the perfect general, and none of that worked. He's hiding. Maybe something on the mission brought up bad memories?"

"He has plenty to choose from."

"I don't understand though. If he was conscious enough to know he was in a dream, he should have woken up."

"You know that doesn't always happen."

"Well, maybe not but it should have at least given him some control." She opened her eyes, looked at the boy. "Unless that's you."

She knelt down to his eye level.

"You're all that's left," she said. "You're the only part he has control over."

"No," the boy said. "I'm the last defense. You don't want to see what's behind that wall. Wake yourself up."

"No. I want him to come home."

The boy stayed silent and she got up. A door stood a few feet away. Plain, ugly, stained.

Yanna reached for the tarnished knob.

"Wait." The boy touched her other hand, his head bowed. "You were all that's left of that other life. And he broke you. If you go through that door…the dream will end forever."

He looked up at her and, this time, his eyes shone green.

"Please don't do this."

Yanna hugged the boy close, rubbing his back.

"I don't…" Her throat tightened. "I don't care if the dream ends. As long as he comes home."

Heart aching, the shaman pulled away and opened the door.

Men and women in pale grey scrubs and lab coats strolled around her, some with clipboards, others with patients in wheelchairs. The scent of disinfectant burned her nose and her bare feet felt like she was walking through slime. She shuddered, rubbed her arms. Glass lined the walls, opening into examination rooms. Doctors and nurses took people's temperature, listened to their heartbeats, tested their reflexes.

Then the rooms started changing. Nurses held patients down while doctors sliced their arms and faces. She heard power tools and screaming. Blood sprayed the glass. Limbs twitched and someone tried to run but was tackled into the wall.

Yanna walked faster, screams echoing in her ears. Men, women, she couldn't tell.

Suddenly the sharp smell of rancid chemicals made her flinch. She hurried around the corner to a set of double doors and pushed through to a stadium-type operating room. Dozens of people stood in the circle. More observed from the raised seats. Beakers filled with different colored liquids were lined up on tables next to carts of wicked metal tools.

The screams changed, almost demonic in their intensity. She could see a foot jerking between two people.

"Observe how the subject reacts when we do this." A thin, greasy man addressed the crowd then lowered the knife. Concrete cracked, metal buckled. Yanna's stomach dropped and she ran over to the table, shoving people out of the way. When she got to the edge, she screamed.

Sephiroth lay manacled to the table. The doctors each had their own section, cutting, inserting, prying. One had giant tweezers holding open a cut on his leg. One was pouring acid on his arm. Another was branding his other leg.

"Look, I wrote my name!" he cried. They laughed, a horrible, nauseating sound.

"Stop it!" Yanna cried. She tried to fight them off but they merely sidestepped her. She ran to the head of the table. A woman was slicing open Sephiroth's face. Someone else stuck a long, probing device into his ear. A thick leather strap held down his thrashing neck. Blood ran freely down his shoulders and onto the table.

"Here we are." The greasy man picked up what looked to be hedge-clippers and, with all the calmness of a gardener, opened Sephiroth's chest. The general screamed into the leather gag, his face red from exertion and blood. Fear and pain slammed her to the floor. She gasped. The lines were blurring, the safeguards crumbling. She couldn't focus, couldn't breathe.

Grating laughter roused her and she crawled to the table of chemicals. Grabbing a beaker, she hurled it at the scientists. Flesh burned and hissed, the stench making her gag, and they turned on her. She fell again, kicking, clawing, biting. As one, the group lifted her up.

"Sephiroth!"

But the general was delirious. He could barely register what was going on, much less help. Yanna reached deep inside, down to the Holy Fire. The red marks on her arms flared. The scientist holding her right arm swore and dropped her as flames exploded on his sleeve. The rest of them went up like dry tinder. She hit the ground and scrambled over to the operating table. The rib-spreader still stuck obscenely into the air. She ripped it out. Sephiroth barely twitched. Too much of his blood painted the floor, the table, her feet.

"Wretched whore!" The greasy man, now thoroughly burning, grabbed at her. Yanna swung the rib-spreader. It connected with a sickening crunch. The greasy man staggered but another flaming man slammed into her.

"Sephiroth, wake up!"

A knife bit into her shoulder. Hands ripped her hair.

"_Sephiroth!_"

The legs of the table buckled and the whole thing crashed in screeching metal. Up above, she saw fire licking higher, curling the ceiling tiles. Ragged chunks of plaster cracked and fell to the floor.

Yanna kicked a scientist in the face, elbowed another, and tried to crawl over to Sephiroth's prone body. The scientists pulled at her legs, her hair. She stoked the fire hotter and crawled over to pull off the gag.

"Come on, sweetheart, you have to wake up." Tears streamed down her face as she cradled his head. "Sephiroth, please come home."

A huge crack rent the air. Bigger chunks of the ceiling fell, crushing some of the scientists into a bloody mess. Yanna looked up just as another piece fell right above them. Black feathers filled her vision—

"Sephiroth!" The shaman flailed off the couch. Plush carpet met her fingers. What? She was home? Her heart pounded so hard she could feel vibrations in the floor. Home. Thank the All-Father. But…

Heaving to her feet, Yanna ran for her phone and speed-dialed Genesis.

"Why hello, beautiful," he greeted.

"Call Sephiroth!"

"What happened?"

"Now!"

The phone clicked dead and she set it shakily down on the coffee table before sinking back into the couch. The full emotion of the dream began to circle back. The anger, the shame, the _fear_. Bringing her knees up to her chest, Yanna put her head in her arms and prayed.

?

Night had already fallen when Sephiroth arrived at his house. It was dark and cold and he dragged himself up the steps to his room. It was over. That whole asinine mess was over. Lazard would want a more thorough report on Modeoheim but he would deal with that later.

Dropping his bag inside his bedroom door, the General set his katana on its stand beneath Masamune and sat down to take off his boots. The mattress sank under his weight and he sighed. Goddess, he was tired. Everything hurt, that bone-deep ache that no amount of rest and food could fix.

He found himself leaning forward on his knees, his head in his hands. This was all just…

The sound of a lock turning over drew his attention downstairs. Soft footsteps padded across the hardwood floor. Light. A woman's. Gaia, he didn't have the strength for her right now. Genesis must have given her his spare key, the meddling bastard.

His bedroom door opened and Yanna came over to kneel at his feet. For a moment, she stayed still. Then deft hands unzipped his boots and set them to the side. He watched her fingers move to his gloves, careful not to touch his skin more than necessary. She was probably still frightened by that nightmare. And why not? He scared her in waking life then tried to kill her in a dream. He really was a monster.

The scent of warm cinnamon floated to him as she reached up to fight with the buckles of his coat and armor. What was she doing? He chanced a look at her face. Glittering onyx flicked back and forth as she worked. Her mouth was set in a firm line, the muscles in her face in taut readiness. He could smell fear, the peculiar combination of sweat and adrenaline, but it was faint, old. Over that, he smelt her soap and whatever made her scent so unique. Cinnamon and unworked leather and something else. Her heart beat steadily and her breathing, while a little uneven, was nowhere near the erratic pace in his dream.

Yanna stood, pulling him to his feet, and unbuckled his pauldrons. They hit the tatami mat with a controlled thud and she stepped around him to help slide off his coat. Fingers brushed his hair, raising goosebumps along his spine. Her touch vanished just as quickly as she set his uniform and armor on his desk. He tilted his head. She was…this was like what the Wutaian retainers did for their lords, or servants did for the warriors. The general in him wanted to stop her. This wasn't her job. This wasn't her burden. But, at the same time, he was just so _tired_.

The shaman came back and started undoing his pants. He did catch her wrist then but when she looked up at him, her face was…not neutral but…he couldn't place it. There was no lust, no ulterior motive as he would expect from the action. The muscles around her eyes tightened, the precursor to tears. He could handle anger. He could handle fury and screaming and, while he despised it, he knew how to respond to pity. But the raw, naked pain in her eyes made his chest ache. He let go of her wrist. Anything to make that hurt go away. Her lips twitched in an almost smile and, kneeling, she helped him out of his pants.

Then she touched his skin for the first time, the barest brush of her fingertips on his calf. He clenched his fists, adrenaline surging. Not there. Don't touch him there; it hurt too much. Gaia, the needles and knives and acids…

Her grip tightened and she pressed soft, moist lips to an old scar that never formed. He lost his breath, choking on nothing. What—what was she doing? How could she—?

Yanna let her fingers trail slowly up his legs as she stood, running along the not-scar lines of old invasions, old war wounds. A fine trembling took over his body. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move as the shaman slid her hands up his arms. Her thumbs pressed into his flesh, her fingers nudging tiny ripples in his chi where they had stabbed some horror or another. Every touch threatened to throw him back into a waking nightmare but she was so close and her breath was so warm…

When she reached his shoulders, she swept down the middle of his chest. There she lingered and the salty scent of her tears grew stronger. Right. The rib-spreader. He wished he could tell her that had just been a construct but no, that had really happened. From the insistence in her touch, she knew that. He felt the strength in her hands, power that came from knowing her craft. Yet for all her desperation, she was still so gentle. His eyes stung and his throat tightened. It shouldn't matter. It shouldn't make such a difference.

The thin scrape of her nails up his chest, along his ribs, drew more goosebumps. One hand settled over his heart. The other edged towards his neck. The trembling worsened and he couldn't focus on anything else. What if he hurt her? What if he snapped in a fit of panic? Oh goddess, if something else happened to her…

Her hand snaked to the back of his neck, warm, solid. He closed his eyes. His lips worked but his voice caught in his throat. She pulled him closer, resting her forehead against his. He didn't understand this. For all his strength, all his skill…

Yanna turned closer, her breath soft, and pressed her lips to the side of his neck. He collapsed around her. Pulling her to his chest, he felt hot tears slide down his skin.

He buried his face in her hair.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Mornin', Seph."

Sephiroth nodded to Angeal and the dark general fell into step next to him.

"How ya doin?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Is Lazard in his office?"

"Should be. I think he has a conference call at noon but I think he's good otherwise."

"And the issue in Section Eight?"

"Better. There were a lot of calls this week. Burglaries, cars broken into, stolen goods, one guy accused another guy of pulling a knife on him just because he wouldn't pay for his coke. Chief Hudson's been running all over the place making sure the beats are covered."

"Are they?"

"For the most part. There were a couple call-ins but I'm more worried about the schools. The curfew isn't passing as quick as I hoped it would. People are still afraid of the old Shinra calling the shots but there's all these gangbangers wandering around during the day and we get yelled at for it."

"Something will happen and it will pass."

"That's what I'm afraid of. See you later, Seph."

"Right." Sephiroth heard him walk off to the elevators and turned his own attention to the little Third currently trying to be invisible.

"Yes, Corporal?"

The boy squeaked, snapping to attention as best he could. Gaia, he looked like he was twelve.

"S-sir…Sergeant Trubig is waiting for you downstairs, sir. A-at the gym. Sir!"

Right. Survival Week had just started for the new recruits.

"Thank you, Corporal," Sephiroth said. "Dismissed."

"Sir!"

He walked away before the boy collapsed in a puddle. People like that made him feel so old, and that was a boy who had already completed the academy. Those kids downstairs would probably look like infants.

Trubig met him above one of the padded workout rooms, a delighted smirk on his brusque face.

"General, sir," he said, saluting. "Come to see the fresh meat, eh?" He motioned through the glass to the stretching recruits.

"See anything promising?" Sephiroth asked.

"A few. This'll be where we tell the men from the boys."

Sephiroth had heard such phrases all his life. And it did have some truth to it. Many students did well with the academics. Boys flocked to the city with newspaper clippings, magazines, notes, pictures, books, all to try to be like one of their heroes. They learned all they could beforehand, trying to outsmart, out-brag, and out-perform the other boys in their squads.

But the physical tests were something else entirely. Sephiroth did not tolerate weak soldiers. He also did not tolerate bullies, selfish ploys, and cowards who would give up their squadmates for dead. This week, Survival Week, would give them a taste of the true hell of military life. Being scared awake at four in the morning after only three hours of sleep, hiking with full packs through bitter cold and dusty heat, swimming in full gear, escaping submerged helicopters, firing at moving targets in the dark, fighting with swords when their muscles screamed and their bones ached. They would need to do it all and more if they were to be cleared for active duty.

And it would begin with basic hand-to-hand.

Trubig went down to demonstrate the first move with one of his aides, a punch and the necessary block. Sephiroth watched him demonstrate a few more moves before pairing off the boys. Empty-hand combat was considered largely an athletic skill. There were very few situations in which it was the preferable mode of operation. But 'preferable' and 'realistic' were two very different things.

In the field, empty-hand and the inevitable grappling was used for crowd control, peacekeeping. It was what a soldier used against a subject he couldn't kill, like a drunkard or a panicking victim. Learning non-lethal force was as necessary as learning to salute.

Later, the boys would learn lethal force with empty hand, how and when to operate when their weapon was taken or lost. It happened ridiculously often and, when Sephiroth was still in the rank and file, he was shocked at how many boys froze when they dropped their sword. A precious few reacted on instinct but still more dodged _into_ the descending blade. These classes and the upcoming seminars were established to prevent that. This truly was about survival: about not walking into bad situations, not escalating the existing violence, not making the foolish decisions because of their pride. It would go against every fiber of their beings. They wanted to be strong, tough, _brave_. But "brave" too often meant "stupid." Sephiroth refused to let them make those mistakes and the veteran soldiers were only too eager to back him. They'd lost boys too and the stupid could only be lucky so many times.

Several sets later, Trubig had the recruits move to the most basic of grappling moves. Namely, getting back up as quickly as possible. Sephiroth watched the boys fumble about, scared of messing up, scared of being labeled 'wussy' or 'gay.' After a few moments, the general rolled his shoulders and walked down to the training room. The other aspect of Survival Week was to see how they handled the pressure of the legends. They would eventually teach the boys, follow their progress into becoming men. It was also conceivable that, in the heat of the moment, they would find themselves alongside Sephiroth or one of the other Firsts. It wouldn't do for the fanboy in them to get them killed.

He had to admit, he liked this part.

?

"I do so love Hell Week," Genesis said, propping his feet up on Sephiroth's desk. "One boy pissed himself, poor dear. He won't live that down until someone hurls or something."

"Which is entirely likely." Sephiroth shoved his feet off his desk. "See any prospects?"

"Here and there." The red general shifted on the couch sitting along the wall. "You should really get a new one, Seph. Leather, maybe. Yeah, black leather. Get the whole dominatrix thing going again."

"If you recall, I tried to get a leather couch. You said it would squeak too loud during sex."

"Right," Genesis laughed. "I remember now. We should go get that other one after work today."

"Really."

"Sure. This one is too soft, we have nothing else planned, and you're going to die a virgin so it's perfect."

"Shut up, Gen." Sephiroth flipped through the report and, on signing the back page, placed it in his outbox. "Yanna came to see me last night."

"Oh-ho _really_!"

"Not like that, you idiot." He threw a pen at the laughing redhead. "She told you about the nightmare."

Genesis sobered quickly.

"No, Seph. What happens on Walks is private. She just told me to call you."

"And you did, just like that?"

"Of course. What happened? If you don't mind my asking."

"She helped me put my armor away."

"And?"

"I—"

The phone rang.

"Sephiroth."

"Missy's been shot!" Angeal cried. Sephiroth immediately put it on speaker phone.

"What happened?"

"School shooting. Some thug barged in and started shooting up the place. One of the students got hurt, everybody's in a panic. And Missy…I don't know how bad it is. I'm on my way now."

"We'll meet you there."

?

"I came to see Missy for lunch," Yanna told the police officer for the hundredth time. "We were in the break room when I heard a scream."

"When did you hear the first gunshot?" the pudgy man asked, not looking up from his little notepad.

"Right after. Someone pulled the fire alarm. Missy and I went to check on the kids in the cafeteria. The gunman was in there, yelling at whatever teachers were in there watching the kids."

"What happened next?"

"One of Missy's boys, Jensen, tried to sneak in to stop him. Missy saw him and ran in to cause a distraction."

"That's when she got shot?"

"No. Jensen jumped on the guy's back and Missy and a couple other teachers ran up to help him. She got shot in the struggle."

"Where were you?"

"I was herding the kids out. That's when An-General Hewley arrived." She let her gaze travel around the circus that had set up in the school parking lot. An ambulance had long since taken Missy and Jensen to the hospital but the area was still taped off with three or four police cars blocking the exits. News vans sat beyond them, trying desperately to get someone's attention while crowds of angry parents did the same.

Sighing, the shaman rubbed her temples.

"Just a few more questions, ma'am. How long before—"

"Shiushan."

They both looked up to see the Silver General stalk towards them. The reporters went wild but he ignored the noise.

"A moment, Officer," he said. The cop nodded and went off to look busy somewhere else.

"Angeal call you?" Yanna asked.

"Yes. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Is he dead?"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at her but she refused to look away. That bastard attacked children.

"Yes. He's dead."

"He died too quickly."

The general didn't answer.

"What else do you need me to do?" she asked.

"If you've spoken to the police, nothing. Has an EMT checked on you?"

"Four times. They wouldn't let me into the ambulance with Missy."

"They needed you here."

Yanna closed her mouth and gripped her wrists. No, she most certainly was not needed here. Not if the piece of arana-crap was already dead. She needed to be at the hospital, checking on Missy or the brave little boy that somehow managed to sneak in from the back stairs.

"Go home, Shiushan. I'll call you."

She looked up, her eyes burning, but she nodded and walked towards her car. She made it all the way to the tape before her skin started to crawl. What was—she looked up. There. Someone in a big, white hoody stood at the edge of the crowd, his—his?—hands in the pocket. Her blood surged and she pushed her way to him.

"Ow!"

"Sorry." She barely registered whoever-it-was she stepped on but Hoody saw her and bolted.

"Hey!" she cried. "Get back here!"

Swearing, Yanna ran after him, barely keeping him in sight as he ran into an alley. She followed, heart pounding, her mind flashing through all the painful things she could do to this bastard when she caught him. Flaying sounded great. Red-hot pokers. Nightmares of being slowly eaten to death by insects.

A small, almost mute part of her reminded her that the gunman had been out of his mind. Not just figuratively but really. There had been something wrong with him. Someone gave him something or did something to him. She hadn't gotten close enough to tell for sure but, Wolf take it all, she was going to find out.

Suddenly Hoody veered around the corner. She was so, so close when the filth leapt over a chain link fence. Growling, she smacked the fence and ran around to the front of what appeared to be a large warehouse. She could hear movement inside, no doubt panic drawn from the chase. A smirk played at her lips. Let them grab their guns and their cute little thug weapons. The earth pulsed underneath her, strong even under so much concrete. Flexing, Yanna snuck inside.

Crates and trash littered the front. She could hear movement further in and she crouched. Tables lined the back wall where a dozen men scurried back and forth packing what looked to be glass.

"You idiot!" A man with more muscles than neck stood yelling at Hoody. "They're going to kill us! How could you lead them here, you stupid git!"

"I'm sorry! I panicked, okay?"

"Retard!" He backhanded him hard enough to spin him around then starting barking orders to the others. "If we lose this shipment, we're dead. Everything goes!"

"But the generals are at the school," one of them said.

"Then we need to be gone before they can id us then, don't we?"

Wait. The generals knew these men. Then that meant…soldiers? Yanna peeked over the box at the men. Some of them had on tanktops, showing the muscles in their arms and shoulders. That didn't necessarily mean anything but maybe—

A large hand yanked her up by her hair, making her wince.

"Hey boss, look what I found." The man she couldn't see pushed her out into the floor and something metal jabbed into her side.

"Oooh." The obvious boss spat something at Hoody then stomped over to her. "Wow. The General's Whore in person."

She lunged at him but the man behind her gripped her throat. The boss just chuckled.

"Not as pretty as I thought you'd be but feisty. That must make up for it."

He winked at her and her blood ran cold. A glow. Mako eyes.

"You're a Soldier," she growled. "How could you do this? They were children!"

"Ex-Soldier."

She swore at him, her vision bleeding into red, and the boss smirked.

"Wonder what else you can do with that mouth."

Gritting her teeth, Yanna grabbed the man's hand on her throat and _pulled_. She could feel the sludge seep into her blood, taste the decay as the man withered behind her.

"What the hell?!" The boss backed away with horrified eyes as Yanna turned and grabbed the man's gun. Bile rose in her throat but she forced it down, raising the gun.

"You _dare_ betray them like this," she bellowed. "All those kids! This is your fault, you piece of—"

She pulled the trigger. The ceiling fell in, knocking her to the ground. Through the ringing in her ears, she could hear gunshots, see men scramble to bring their rifles to bear.

"Sephiroth…"

Black leather slid in and out of her vision. Metal sang. The shaman struggled to her feet, grabbing a long metal rod from the debris.

"There you are!" The boss grabbed her arm and she whirled, striking him in the face. He swore and punched her. She staggered, just barely managing to keep her feet, when he was on her again, his arm around her neck and a gun to her head.

"General Seph—"

A shriek, a quick thud, and the room fell silent. The boss hung from the wall with Masamune between his eyes, the hilt still wobbling form the impact.

Yanna swallowed.

"General…"

Sephiroth was suddenly in front of her, emerald eyes boring hers.

"What. Are. You. Doing?"

"General—"

"_You have no power here._" Sephiroth motioned sharply for another soldier. "Take the shaman back to base. No one speaks to her until I arrive."


	19. Chapter 19

Um…Language in this one. Just a heads up.

Chapter 19

The shaman sat quietly in one of the interrogation rooms, her arms folded, her head bowed. She glanced up when Sephiroth walked inside and her eyes were red.

"Your behavior was unacceptable," he said, sitting across from her.

"Gen already explained it to me," she said. Despite the obvious signs she had been crying, she looked hard and frustrated. "You don't discipline other people's kids."

"If you were just another military commander, that would be true. But you're a civilian and a foreigner. You have no authority over soldiers, ex or otherwise."

"Yeah. Caught that." Her voice bit and he kept his face impassive.

"When soldiers sign their oath to Shinra, there is an implicit agreement that when they break the law, they answer to military justice. There is a certain protection in that, for everyone involved. By taking matters into your own hands, you endangered yourself, my men, and you disrespected me."

Her eyes widened and he felt a small flicker of triumph.

"While you did find where the manufacturing site was located, you forced my hand and good people were injured. I don't care if you acted correctly by Kalani law. You are not on the mountain anymore and this will not happen again. Do you understand?"

Yanna mouth tightened, her throat working, and she nodded.

"Answer me."

"Yes, General."

Sephiroth knocked on the two-sided mirror behind him. A moment later, a peacekeeping officer opened the door.

"Take her home."

?

The next several days saw the fake-Mako operation torn to its foundations. What Yanna had stumbled into had been one of many small labs around the city. Angeal had no problem extracting the location of the main site and its operators. He then personally oversaw the process and plowed through the other distribution points like a roaring behemoth. It was the break they had been waiting for.

With the peacekeeping troops and police officers breaking up so many rings, Genesis was able to trace the foreign supply lines. Sephiroth fenced the press and their superiors, watching the danger to his men collapse into flakes of ash. It was gratifying and it served to remind the world why the three of them were the best.

It was a very intense, very sleepless week-and-a-half before he could make the obligatory visit to Missy. He couldn't even claim altruistic motives; he really just needed Angeal back at his post. When the dark general wasn't terrorizing would-be crime lords, he was here. Honestly, the man was a mother hen.

"Whoo, two outta three in one day!" Missy smiled and waved him into her room. "Fangirls are gonna kill me!"

"Hello, Missy," Sephiroth said, folding his hands. "How are you?"

"Eh, I'm good. Sore, drugged, my stitches itch like crazy, and this is the first time since the shooting that Angeal hasn't been up in my bubble."

"So he's left for the day."

"Actually, he just went for food. He should be back soon."

The scent of cinnamon caught his attention and he turned to see Yanna sitting in the corner. She stood, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"General."

"Shiushan. Could I speak with you in the hall?"

Yanna glanced at Missy, who waved in dismissal.

"I've got cable," she said. "I'm good."

Sephiroth let the shaman go first before silently shutting the door behind him.

"There is a conference starting next week," he said. "Speakers will be coming in from all over the world to teach Academy students and other military/paramilitary groups about survival and self-defense. Colonel Murron will be staying with me for the duration. I'd like you to meet him."

Yanna blinked, frowning.

"But I thought you were still mad at me."

"Mad? No, why would I be mad at you?"

"I—you yelled at me. At the Soldier Building. You don't remember?"

Sephiroth winced and glanced over her head.

"I wasn't mad," he said. "I was worried. You went up against enhanced soldiers. It's admirable that you are willing to take the initiative but they could have hurt you or worse." He lowered his voice as a nurse walked by. "And it would have been out of my hands. Again."

"Oh." Yanna rubbed her arms, a small smile playing around her lips. "So we're still friends?"

"Of course. I apologize for making you think otherwise. I just—"

"I get it." She shrugged. "You had to correct something. It's like when I smack a kid's hand when he's reaching for the fire."

"I've never thought of you as a child. And the incident was partially my fault. I took you from your laws without explaining ours. If you want, I can get you into the conference as well. There are several classes dealing with legal issues."

"Yeah?" Her smile got a little wider. "I'd like that. And you're not mad."

"No, I'm not mad. 'Mad' was Wutai. This was a step below panic."

She laughed, a soft, tiny sound as she reached up to play with her necklace.

"You were really worried about me?"

"Is your asking me to repeat myself going to be a regular occurrence?"

"Okay fine. Maybe I'll make dinner for you two."

"If you want."

"Okay. I uh, I should get back to Missy."

"All right. I'll send you the details."

"Thanks. And…I really am sorry." She gripped her necklace tighter. "I would never in a million years try to dishonor you. I just wanted to help."

"I know."

?

In the days leading up to the conference, Yanna did as much schoolwork as she could. supported her attendance whole-heartedly, saying it would be beneficial to learn the legalities of the people she usually dealt with. Of course, she still had to take the obligatory tests on Saturdays but now they were getting into subjects she worked with more regularly. For some reason, emergency medicine was just fresher in her mind than pharmacology.

But by the time the conference started, she had had enough of medical information. Anything new and not involving baby poop, infections, or cellular mutation sounded wonderful. The shaman arrived at the convention center at 7:15, forty-five minutes before the introductions, but the place was already packed. Tables of pamphlets, dvds, and booklets lined the entryway. Signs and maps had been posted on almost every possible surface, including arrows to the various bathrooms.

Soldiers crowded the stairs, halls, and aisles. Hundreds of people in and out of uniform, peacekeeping troops, prison officers, volunteers…She even saw a few women and students. How had Sephiroth—she didn't even need to finish the thought. It was Sephiroth. The general probably had everything planned out before they had even started working on the Kalani festival. How annoying.

Clutching her bag, Yanna wove through the crowd and into the main auditorium. A soldier in blue, the color of Angeal's men, stood at one of the aisles directing traffic.

"Excuse me," she said.

"Yes, ma'am. Looking for a seat?"

"Yes, please. Just anywhere okay or…?"

"Um, right down there." He pointed to one of the middle sections towards the front.

"Thank you." She waved and hurried down to find a seat. After nearly tripping a few times over ridiculously large boots, she settled next to a young man with brown hair and eager eyes.

"Hi," he said, extending his hand. "I'm Nathan, Soldier Third."

"Yanna. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too. Wait. Are you—" He blinked, caught himself. "Nice to meet you. How'd you hear about the conference?"

"A friend told me about it. I figured I could avoid a lot of legal problems if I came. For some reason, 'stab it till it's dead' isn't an acceptable solution."

"Eh, sometimes." He had an easy smile and they chatted until the lights dimmed and last-minuters scrambled for a seat. For a few, tense seconds, it was quiet.

"Ten hut!"

The room leapt to its feet. Yanna jumped, suppressing a giggle, and stood with the rest of them. A fine hush of nerves rippled through the crowd. Heavy bootfalls sounded behind them and she looked to see a flash of silver and red come down the center aisle.

Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal stopped at the base of the stage, all three in uniform. They looked over the crowd and she could hear the relieved exhales when the generals released them from their gaze.

"This course is designed to keep you alive." Sephiroth pitched his voice to carry. "If you came here to learn how to be superheroes, you can leave the same way you came in. We will be teaching you how to avoid problems, how to de-escalate situations before you go hands-on. The single most important lesson you will learn is: Do whatever you must to go home at the end of the day. It's not glorious. Half of it isn't even worth the paper needed for the reports. But it will keep you alive."

He spread his hands to encompass the instructors gathering on the stage behind them.

"We have assembled the finest professionals in their fields. They have lived through the bad decisions. If they tell you something is ill-advised, it would be in your best interest to _listen_. Once you walk out of this building, you will be responsible for the information presented. If the worse should happen, and you know you did everything you could, we will defend you. I will defend you to the press, the city, President Shinra, even the goddess herself.

"However." He met their eyes in that peculiar way a public speaker can look and see and never light on one person. "If you try any untimely heroics, if you do anything moronic that puts you and your unit in jeopardy, you will not face judicial courts. No lawyer, no sobbing mother, no eleventh-hour plea will help.

"You will answer directly to _me_. Do you understand?"

There was a smattering of 'yes, sirs' and nods.

"I said: _do you understand?_"

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

Sephiroth nodded sharply and Angeal motioned for them all to sit. Genesis started introducing the instructors.

"Dude, that was awesome," Nathan whispered. Yanna couldn't help the goofy smile on her face as she took out her notebook. There was a reason she had the Silver Elite necklace.

?

The rest of the morning passed in group lecture then the attendees went to lunch and split into individual classes. Sephiroth, or rather Angeal at Sephiroth's request, rotated the schedules so the students all received the same instruction. Soldiers who had graduated, including peacekeeping troops, local police, correctional officers, professors, actual Academy instructors, and several others, went through mandatory training on certain subjects. For some of them, it was simply their turn. Others, like Academy instructors and base commanders, had to renew their certifications.

Luckily, most of the speakers were interesting, talking _to_ the men instead of droning _at_ them. And there was the small fact that the three generals taught a few classes personally. Those classes filled up quickly but, after the second year, all of the classes were compiled on DVD for those that wanted to buy them.

"I feel older every time I come here."

Colonel James Murron, a graying man in his fifties with a quick eye and chiseled face, walked with Sephiroth to the parking garage.

"Five years from now," he said. "You'll be shoving eight-year-olds at me and I'll be hobbling around on a walker."

"Give me some credit, James. We'd give you an electric wheelchair."

"Gee, thanks."

They got into Sephiroth's car and drove back to his house.

"I changed things a little," Sephiroth said. "You may have to use a different guest room."

"Oh, don't worry about me, boy. I can sleep on the ground, you know that."

"You haven't slept on the ground in twenty years."

"That's true. I probably wouldn't even be able to get back up." James took off his boots then stretched, popping his back. "Mind getting an old man some water?"

"Yes, sir." Sephiroth went to the cabinet closest to the refrigerator for a glass.

"Weren't they over there?" James asked.

"My kitchen was rearranged."

"Not by…you?" The old man took the glass of water with a nod. "What's been going on here?"

"Do you still want to meet Yanna?"

"Your lady friend? Of course."

"Good. She'll be here in a few minutes. She offered to make dinner for us."

"That's sweet of her." Downing the water, James hefted his bag. "I should go make myself presentable then. Would a suit be too formal?"

Sephiroth gave him a look as he led him upstairs.

"Don't start," he warned.

"Start what?"

"Stop it. Will this room be all right?" The general opened the door to the guest room closest to the stairs. He kept Yanna's room closed but James eyed it and the bright green sash on the knob anyway.

"Sure, this is fine. Thank you."

Sephiroth ignored the questioning look.

"Just behave," he said, going to his room. It felt so nice to be out of that uniform. Not that he wasn't accustomed to it. The damnable thing was practically a second skin but that didn't make his kimono pants any less comfortable.

Splashing his face, he wondered if he should even bother with a shirt. James had only cared when they were at the colonel's house and Marilyn or Heather was there. Yanna certainly never cared. But if he did go without, he would probably get a lecture about propriety and an interrogation after she left.

Fine. Grabbing a thin, white kimono shirt, he threw it on but didn't wrap it as tight as it was supposed to be. This would have to do.

Downstairs, he heard the lock turn over and he hurried down just as Yanna stumbled in. Her brightly colored cloth grocery bags threatened to bury her, making him grin.

"You could have made two trips," he said, grabbing the bags.

"I didn't want to." Yanna smiled in greeting and set about putting the groceries away. "Is this okay?"

She motioned to her dress, a floor-length purple knit with long sleeves and a high neckline. While modest, it flattered her figure, hugging without being trashy. And, of course, she had that necklace.

"You look nice," he said. Her smile brightened.

"Okay. Um, paella's okay, right?"

"You asked me that already. Yes, it's fine. If he doesn't like it, I'll eat it."

"You eat anything."

"Not true, dear," James said, coming down the stairs. "I have it on good authority that the General hates brussels sprouts."

"This is Colonel James Murron," Sephiroth said. "Friend and mentor. James, this is Yanna."

"So nice to finally meet you," Yanna said, giving him a hug. "The General speaks so highly of you."

"Aren't you the sweetest liar."

"You don't have to call me 'General' here," Sephiroth said.

"Oh. I didn't want to be rude." She smiled at James. "So I hear you're a granddaddy?"

"Yes, ma'am. I have two grandsons, Jack and Marc. Jack's nine and Marc's seven."

"Aw, do you have pictures?"

"Of course!" James whipped out his phone and started thumbing through pictures and videos of his grandchildren. Sephiroth smiled, shaking his head. Hard to believe the gushing grandpa in his kitchen was the same no-nonsense base commander he grew up with. He could still remember the hours and hours his squad spent literally running around the base.

"Don't give us that look," Yanna said, swatting his arm. "Just because you hate kids."

"I do not hate children. I hate their sticky fingers."

"Maybe you should cut your hair."

"Maybe you should keep them on a leash."

"Sephiroth!"

James chuckled, putting away his phone.

"I'm used to it, dear," he said. "Now what can an old man do to help?"

"Nothing. You just sit there and look pretty."

"I haven't been 'pretty' in forty years. Not like Sephiroth."

The general rolled his eyes.

"This is the man that started the mascara rumors when I was a teenager."

"I never!"

"Mm-hmm."

"Well, I would get kind of jealous too," Yanna said. "Okay, yeah, you have to leave."

"Excuse me?"

"Get out of my kitchen."

"_Your_ kitchen?" He looked at James, incredulous. "Are you hearing this?"

"Am I right in assuming Ms. Yanna rearranged your kitchen?"

"It didn't make sense the way it was," Yanna said.

"It was fine."

"Who's doing the cooking?" She shoved his hips and kept shoving until he was on the other side of the island. "Colonel, keep him entertained and out of the way."

"Yes, ma'am. And it's James."

"Okay, James, keep him over there so I don't kill him."

Sephiroth grinned at his friend as Yanna started dinner.

"Is she always like this?" James mouthed. He nodded.

"The shiushan comes from a long line of domineering women."

"I can still reach you," Yanna said without looking up.

"So, Ms. Yanna," James said, redirecting. "How long have you known my boy?"

"Really?" Sephiroth asked. "We're going to do this now?"

"I'm talking to the lady, Sephiroth."

Yanna giggled, deftly cutting up vegetables into little cubes.

"We met during Makofall," she said. "Everything kind of swept through near my village so everyone got pulled into it. I started working with Shinra almost right after. Gen—sorry. Gen?"

Sephiroth nodded.

"Gen got me onto the land development program and it just went from there. Oh, and there was that whole mess in Wutai. Sephiroth had to babysit me for like a week."

"I did not have to babysit you," the silver one protested. "You remember the rebel attack," he said, turning to James.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about all that," the older man said. "So you were in that mess too?"

Yanna nodded.

"Got shot at and everything. The food was good though."

"That wasn't real Wutaian food," Sephiroth said. Yes, the food on base was decent but it was nutritious, not gourmet. "Sometime this week, I'll make sushi for you two. James, do you still eat eel?"

"If it's drowned in cream cheese, yes."

"Eel?" Yanna asked, moving to the stove.

"You eat snake."

"Snake isn't slimy and squirmy."

"It is when you kill it."

"And when have you ever seen me kill a snake?"

"I haven't. Angeal told me." He looked at James. "Allegedly, this woman can behead and skin a snake in three seconds. The body is still moving when it hits the bucket and the heart is still beating."

"Do you eat the heart too?" James asked. Yanna shook her head.

"No, snakes don't have a lot of blood so we have to give the heart back. On bigger animals, yes, we eat the heart."

The colonel frowned at Sephiroth.

"Tribute to the All-Father," he explained. "Thanks for the kill."

"Ah. That's interesting."

"Eh, just what we do." Yanna handed the general a jar of tomatoes for him to open. "I really like these classes. How long have you guys been doing this?"

"Oh Gaia, ten years?" James asked.

"Something like that." Sephiroth handed the jar back. "Since I'm banned from my own kitchen, could you get the nuts down from wherever you put them?"

"Why, you don't want to eat my food?"

"No, you're just taking too long."

She stuck out her tongue but obliged him and the two started snacking on the salted nuts while they talked. Sephiroth had to admit, he was relieved. He supposed this was the closest he'd get to 'bringing home a girl' and he had been worried. Not enough to show it, of course, but he had hoped they would at least like each other.

Thankfully, they got along well and the conversation flowed easily. When at last dinner was ready, the men helped Yanna take it into the dining room.

"This is delicious," James said.

"Thanks." Yanna smiled that relieved smile of a woman who thought she performed well but was grateful anyway. "Careful though. It's hot enough to sear your lips together."

"We'll manage." Sephiroth smiled at her. "Thank you for dinner."

"Yes, thank you."

"Mm-hmm." The woman wiggled slightly, pleased. It was kind of cute. He'd caught himself hunting more and more for that quiet happiness, that light in her eyes that didn't always reach her mouth. He tilted his head.

Then he saw James grinning and he glared.

"So I get to meet the other ladies tomorrow?" James asked. "Angeal said something about us going out to dinner."

"Oh, that's right," Yanna said. "You have to meet Missy and, have you met Cissnei already? She's a Turk."

"I don't think I've met her but I've seen her around. That little bit of a thing is with Genesis?"

"She's tougher than she looks," Sephiroth said.

"Gen calls her his 'cuddly bamf.' And Missy's just a sweetheart."

"Missy, I don't think I've heard of that one."

"Her real name is Celeste Abarthe but her students—she's a third grade teacher—couldn't say 'Ms. A' or they said it too fast so she's 'Missy.'"

"Teacher…wait, was she the one that got shot?"

"At the school, yes," the general nodded. "We're taking care of it."

Yanna glanced pointedly at her hands.

"I know," he said. "You think he died too slowly."

"He attacked _children_."

"_He_ was a child." Their eyes met and, after a second, she lowered them.

"How's Mrs. Murron?" she asked.

Before James could answer, someone pounded on the front door.

"Are we expecting the boys?" the colonel asked.

"No." Sephiroth opened the door and blinked. "Vincent."

The black-haired man shoved inside, his tattered cape reeking of dust and mildew.

"I found her!" he said, spinning.

"Found who?"

"Lucrecia! I found her, Sephiroth. She's in the Crystal Caves. She's trapped in Mako."

"So she's dead. Good to have that cleared up."

"No, you're not listening!"

"General Sephiroth." James edged out of the dining room, careful to keep Yanna behind him. "Who's your friend?"

Closing the door, Sephiroth went to pick at the nuts.

"This is Vincent Valentine," he said. "Former Turk of Shinra."

"There are no former Turks of Shinra."

The general shrugged.

"Is there something else you wanted to say, Vincent?"

The dark man curled his claw at his side and took a deep breath.

"Is there somewhere we can talk?" he asked. "This is…delicate information."

Sephiroth just stared. The silence grew thick, uncomfortable, but he was not about to pander to this fool.

"Well, thank you for the update, Mr. Valentine," Yanna said, sweeping to the door. "We're in the middle of something right now but I'm sure you could email the information or call the General later this week."

"She's your secretary now?"

"What do you want me to say?" Sephiroth asked. "You found her body. I'm glad for you. What am I supposed to do about it?"

"She could still be alive."

"In Mako? Unlikely. It's unheard of that her body is even intact. Mako burns anything it comes in contact with."

"Except Je-except the Calamity. She endured the same treatments. They might have made her strong enough to survive."

"So she's…what? In a coma?"

"It's a possibility."

"I see." Sephiroth brushed the salt off his hands. "Then I suggest you go to President Shinra. I'm sure he would be willing to retrieve the body if you asked nicely."

Red eyes flashed.

"You're not even going to try? She's your _mother_. How can you be so selfish?"

Vincent's throat was in his hand before he realized he'd moved.

"You dare come into my house and lecture me about filial duty when that selfish cunt put me through hell before I was even born."

He forced the ex-Turk to his knees. Blood roared in his ears. Black edged his vision until he could only see the man before him.

"She's your mother," the man wheezed.

"She's a _whore_! She spread her legs knowing full well what was going to happen and you still defend her!"

"You know it wasn't like that." Vincent clawed at his wrist. Sephiroth saw red lines appear on his skin but he only felt cold.

"She tried to leave. I tried to get her out—"

"You." Something cracked under his grip. "You are a _fucking coward_! How many bullets did you take for Shinra? Hundreds? Thousands? How many did you take for me? One! One fucking bullet and you hide behind that damn demon while Hojo makes me his personal bitch for thirty years. And you _dare_ come into this house talking about selfish!"

Sephiroth lifted him up by his throat.

"If you ever come here again, I will finish the job he started."

Vincent landed outside with a satisfying thud and Sephiroth slammed the door.

"Seph—"

He threw up his hand, ears ringing, and ran out the back door.

"Sephiroth, wait!"

"General!"

One step, two, and he was in the air, wing beating, clawing at the wind. Shards of ice bit into his face and chest but he flew higher. A storm was coming. Thick, black clouds roiled on the horizion. Lightning flashed. He could see sheets of rain, grey and solid against the sky. He vaguely remembered seeing the forcast for this. Flash flood warnings and tornado watches had already been issued. Eighteen inches of expected rainfall, they said.

His throat burning, Sephiroth flew into the storm.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The General was gone for hours. In that time, Yanna had put the food away, learned chess, and lost to James over a dozen times. Genesis and Angeal had already been called and, while worried, they said the same thing James did: he'll come home when he had calmed down. Sephiroth was aware enough of his own presence that he knew to remove himself when he got too upset. Yanna admired the wherewithal but none of them, not even James, had ever seen him this angry.

So they waited, sick and anxious. Yanna glanced at her phone every few seconds and at the doors in between.

"You have got to calm down," James said, starting yet another game of chess. "He's okay."

"Would he have gotten away with this when he was under you?"

The old colonel just scoffed.

"That's what I thought." Yanna reached out to touch the stack of towels and clean pants sitting on the couch next to her. At least it was raining this time. The last time she heard of Sephiroth getting this upset, a certain little mountain town burned to the ground in two hours.

"Has he ever talked to you about his mother?" James asked.

"Just once. I was…involved in the whole Makofall mess. A lot of secrets came out and it was just awful for everyone. After we got back from Wutai, Sephiroth explained what happened, said it had taken him that long to sort everything out."

"He's never talked about finding her?"

"Never."

"And his father? Does he know who he is now?"

The shaman suddenly felt nauseous.

"He knows," she said.

"That bad. Your move, sweetie."

"It's not my place to say." She moved a pawn without really thinking. "When he talks about his childhood, he always talks about you. Your family and the boys are the only family he has."

"Oh, I dunno." He smiled, eyes twinkling. "He's very fond of you."

Yanna looked down at the board.

"He's strong," she said quietly. "So much stronger than me. I try to help. I mean, I'm a healer. I always try to help but I never know if I make any difference. He's been dealing with this stuff his whole life and I'm just..." She shrugged, watching him move a piece—a rook?

Her mind wandered back to the night Sephiroth came home from that mission. She never did find out what it was or even where he had gone, and she wasn't about to ask. Still, it gnawed at her that she couldn't do more. In another life, another world, she might have pulled him into bed and made him forget the whole thing. Sometimes she wondered if she shouldn't have anyway. Yes, it would have been awkward afterwards but if she could have just made him see that not everyone wanted to hurt him, maybe it would have helped.

"I think you make more of a difference than you realize," James said. "Mary and I have been worrying and praying over him for years. It's heartbreaking to see someone with such a hole in them, you know? We did the best we could but we could only guess at how bad it got." He gave her a warm smile. "It's a relief to know you're here. I haven't seen him this relaxed in years, if ever. At least, until that Turk showed up."

"Ex-Turk."

"There's no such thing. Turks don't retire or get fired. They die."

"Hojo got to him too."

The colonel closed his eyes with a sigh.

"Praise the goddess that man is dead," he said. "So what about—"

Suddenly, he perked up, turning towards the back door. After a moment, the door slid open and a very wet Sephiroth stepped inside.

"There you are, boy." James jumped up and threw a towel around his shoulders. "Come in and get dried off. Are you okay?"

"Yes." Sephiroth had trouble meeting their eyes. "I'm sorry. I had to think."

When he glanced in her direction, her throat caught and she ran to him, throwing her arms around his waist.

"We were so worried," she whispered, her eyes welling. "Don't ever do that again, do you hear me? Go get changed."

She shoved him and he obediently padded to the downstairs bathroom with the dry pants.

"You okay?" James asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just going to make some tea." She sniffled and wiped her eyes but, thankfully, James didn't comment. A few minutes later, Sephiroth came back with a new towel, his hair still damp.

"I owe you an explanation," he said. The two men sat down and Yanna brought over the hot tea before sitting at Sephiroth's feet. The general told James everything, from Jenova to the drugs. It hurt to hear again, hurt more to see the look on the old colonel's face. He really did think of Sephiroth as a son. She couldn't imagine hearing all this from her child. The rage and guilt and confusion would be simply overwhelming.

James stayed quiet through the story with great effort, taking shelter in the tea. Yanna slipped her hand up Sephiroth's calf and leaned her head against his knee. His skin was still cold through the kimono pants and his toes felt like ice against her leg but she didn't care. He was home. That's all that mattered.

When Sephiroth finished, his friend took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Boy, why didn't you come to us?" he asked.

"I couldn't. If you—if Marilyn knew what I was…I couldn't."

"You're family, Sephiroth. Nothing can change that."

She felt more than saw Sephiroth nod.

"Thank you, sir. I still don't know what to do. Marilyn's the only mother I've ever known. I have no attachment to Lucrecia at all. I don't care if she's alive or dead. I just…I want this _done_."

"I can't blame you for that." James rubbed his eyes in that pinch men do to hide that they're crying. "This is a lot to process but nothing has to be decided tonight. Actually, I think it's best that you don't."

"I won't make any decisions until after the conference, at least."

"Do you mind if I call Mary? I won't tell her any details, just that they found your birth-mother."

"If you think it would help."

"I don't think anything can _help_ but we're here for you, whatever you decide." James put a wrinkled yet strong hand on Sephiroth's arm. "We're proud of you. I am proud of you. Do you hear me?"

Sephiroth nodded again.

"Answer me, boy."

"Yes, sir."

"Good."

The two men stood and James pulled the general into a man-bear hug.

"Get some rest," he said. "Things will look better in the morning."

"Yes, sir."

A final clap on the back and the colonel plodded upstairs. Yanna got up and took the tea tray back to the kitchen, keeping her head down.

"I'm sorry," Sephiroth said quietly. "My behavior was unacceptable."

"It's fine. I can't believe he—"

"Please, Yanna, not tonight. I don't want to think about it anymore."

"Sorry." Her throat tightened again, her vision blurring. "You should call Gen and Angeal. They're worried too."

"Yanna." A strong, cool hand touched her arm. "Look at me."

She turned but she couldn't raise her eyes above his chest.

"I was so scared," she whispered. "And I had already messed up—"

"Stop." He slipped a finger under her chin and forced her to meet to his eyes. "That's over."

"I thought you weren't coming home."

Sephiroth blinked then carefully picked a stray lock of hair away from her face.

"I'll always come home," he said. "I promised."

"Yeah." Yanna nodded once then reached back with one hand to the foot-long knife at her waistband.

"Tell me what to do," she said, kneeling and holding up the knife. "I'll destroy them. I'll drive them mad, wipe them from the face of the earth."

"Yanna, get up. You don't mean that."

"I do." She swallowed, collecting herself, and took a breath. "I do." Her voice sounded more steady, less desperate. "They attacked you in your own home. Command me."

For a long moment, Sephiroth just stared. Then he knelt and made her lower the knife. Emerald eyes met hers. Even now, after so much stress, his gaze held the authority of a thousand decisions, the power of a king that could level mountains with a word. But there was grief as well, a pain that edged his eyes and mouth. He suddenly looked so much older, haggard. Most men could go their entire lives without enduring half of the nightmares he had. What she wouldn't give to make it all go away, to make his most stressful decision what exercise to put the men through on the practice field.

A slender finger reached out to touch her cheek and his lips pulled into the beginnings of a smile.

"I believe you would go after them," he said, his voice rumbling in her chest. "Even for me."

"Especially for you." She clenched her hand around the knife's hilt. "Please let me help."

"Stubborn woman." He pulled her to her feet. "Why do you support me like this?"

"I—you're a good man. I trust you."

"I broke that trust."

"But you fixed it. I…I know what happened with the World-Breaker probably won't ever happen with us but I am loyal to you. I can give you that."

The general tilted his head, his eyes growing thoughtful.

"Thank you," he said. "That means a lot."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"You can stay. I left your room the way it was."

"Okay." She followed him upstairs. "Um, you'll call me if you need something?"

"Yes. Get some rest. Angeal's the first speaker tomorrow. You'll need your energy."

"Right um…" She gave a timid hug. "Hope you sleep well."

Sephiroth touched under her chin one last time and walked into his room.

?

The next morning, Sephiroth took a scalding shower, towel-dried his hair to a manageable damp, and put on his uniform. Yanna met him downstairs, wrist deep in powdered sugar.

"Hey," she said.

"Hello."

The shaman wore a red, turtleneck dress that flowed easily over her curves and she had pulled her hair back in a clip so that soft curls fell over her shoulders. She seemed to be fighting one rather insistent curl as she dusted a tray of fresh pastries with sugar.

"You look nice," he said, moving the offending curl. A soft flush touched her cheeks.

"Thanks. Forgot I had this dress here. How are you?"

"I'm…not thinking about it. I just want to get through the conference."

"Okay."

"What flavor are these?"

"Berry. And don't worry; I checked this time. No leaves."

"Good. Have you started the coffee yet?"

"You know I don't make that nasty bean juice. If I wanted something from a bean, I'd use a real bean and not those freaky nut things."

"Yes, ma'am." The general set about making coffee strong enough to satisfy both him and James, the rich scent of the brew filling the air. Behind him, Yanna started humming a gentle tune he almost recognized.

"I never thanked you," he said.

"For what?"

"When I got back from that mission. I found other failed experiments in the mountains and I didn't handle it well. That's what triggered the nightmares."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." He came to stand next to her as she washed the sugar from her hands. "If not for you, I might have done something stupid."

"_What_." The look Yanna gave him spoke volumes and he held up his hand.

"I meant like last night. I've been known to train until I pass out."

"This has happened before?"

"Not lately."

She narrowed her eyes and the stubborn set of her mouth made him smile.

"Thank you," he said. "It meant a lot that you were there."

"How many do you want, General?"

"Three, please. And, when it's just us, you can call me 'Seph.'"

Yanna blinked up at him then offered a shy smile.

"You mean it?"

"I mean it." He touched under her chin, drawing another blush. Then movement in his periphery caught his attention. "Spying on us, James?"

The colonel came down the stairs, not looking at all repentant.

"Good morning," he said brightly. "And you made breakfast too? You're too good to an old man."

"Eat as much as you want," Yanna said. "There's plenty."

"Much obliged."

"Are you riding with us, Shiushan?" Sephiroth asked.

"Uh sure, if there's room."

"Yes, because I would offer and then say you can't."

"Well, I don't know how you think. You might put me in the trunk."

"I've considered it."

The shaman swatted his arm and grabbed a pastry for herself.

"I'm going to get my stuff. Who's first again?"

"Angeal."

"Oh gosh, I hope I have enough paper."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"He did _what?!_"

Sephiroth winced at Genesis' volume and strode off down the hall.

"I'm not making any decisions right now," he said.

"Right sure, that's a good idea. Man, that pisses me off!"

"Would you calm down? You're making people nervous."

"I'm calm; I'm cool." Genesis stayed quiet for a second. "I cannot believe the gall of that man! Barging in and saying—"

"I know what he said, Gen."

The redhead growled at the elevator doors as they stepped into the car.

"What did James say?" he asked. Sephiroth gave a small shrug.

"He was supportive but he said he'd have to call Marilyn first."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"Besides run Vincent through with Masamune?"

Genesis chuckled and flicked his hair out of his face.

"You just give me the word and he'll disappear. If he so much as looks at you cross-eyed, I'll light him and that tacky cape on fire."

"No, Gen." Sephiroth paused. "But yes, do that. And let me tell Angeal. I don't want a lecture right now."

"Sure, sure. Where are you headed now?"

"President Shinra wanted to see me then I'm going to look in on the firearms certification classes."

"Kay. Well, have fun. I'm going to go enjoy the attentions of women."

"That is today, isn't it?"

Women's self-defense was a relatively new class that Angeal requested after a girl went home with the wrong guy and ended up in a dumpster. Parents all over the city latched onto the program, along with whatever classes were offered locally. Teenage girls stormed the classes as much to see their heroes as to learn. Then older women started coming, mothers and teachers, office workers. The second day of the conference was considered 'Women's Day' for all of the estrogen flooding the halls, after which the attendance would return to mostly men.

Genesis was chosen to handle the women's classes due to his charm. And because Angeal was too nice to keep the women on track if they started fangirling and it frankly wasn't safe for Sephiroth. The general had actually lost skin the first and last time he tried.

"We're still going out to eat, right?" Genesis asked.

"As far as I know."

"Good. See you later, Seph. Call me if you need something."

?

Yanna sat in the middle of a large classroom, surrounded by women and girls of all ages. In the span of five minutes, she had seen more apple charms and "Mrs. Rhapsodos" badges than she ever cared to. She couldn't help but smile.

"Oh, you're a Silver, huh?" The woman next to her asked. Fiery red hair fell around her shoulders but Yanna could see the dark brown roots. Aw. She dyed her hair to match Genesis.

"Yeah," Yanna said, grinning. "But I'm sure General Rhapsodos has some good ideas. He's a First, right?"

"He should be _the_ First if President Shinra had any brains," the redhead huffed. "I've taken the class every year they've offered it."

"Wow, you should be old hat at this then."

"Yeah." Her smile turned smug. "He even used me in the demonstration last year."

"Wow."

"Good afternoon, ladies." Genesis swept into the room and the women cheered. One girl even tried to run up with a notebook and pen but he held up his hand.

"No, darling, if I tried to sign anything now, all of you would storm me and I'd lose my train of thought. And possibly my clothes."

From the giggles, that obviously didn't sound like a bad idea.

"He's so going to pick me again," the woman whispered. Yanna rolled her eyes and the class began with Genesis passing out workbooks.

"So, show of hands, how many of you get home after dark?"

The next four hours were truly a pleasure to watch. Genesis was masterful at keeping their attention, making them laugh even when he had important points. It really felt like he was just flirting with all of them in an everyday conversation. Women she thought would go at each other's throat if left in the same room roleplayed and worked together like old friends.

Yanna found herself laughing and smiling through most of it, though she did take some notes. It was a little surprising that he had to say things like "don't go down the dark alley" and "park under a streetlamp" and "for Gaia's sake, don't go home with someone you just met." Really? He really had to tell them this?

But then, these women lived in the city. They didn't see things in terms of life and death. A bad day for them was losing their cellphones, whereas a bad day for Genesis was holding his stomach together in a war zone.

There were a few more aggressive women in the group though. One, a little old lady with pale blonde hair, said she got a gun to take to church. Genesis just smiled indulgently.

"Yes, darling, but you're worth more to the goddess alive than dead. If you have the choice, running is eminently better. The law doesn't recognize 'he scared me and I shot him in the head.'"

That was another thing that surprised her. The laws weren't different for men and women. The very concept was mind-boggling. So a woman could be charged with assault if she chased her assailant? But if he crossed her threshold, it was her responsibility to make sure he didn't come back with reinforcements. A live enemy meant he was still a threat.

But Genesis made a point to say that most criminals are looking for the easy score. The television shows and movies that show psychotically persistent bad guys exaggerated an incredibly rare event. It was far more likely for them to get raped by a guy they thought they were joking with than a stalker bent on destroying everyone in their lives.

"Just because you think it's joking and safe," Genesis said, "doesn't mean he sees it that way. 'No' does not always mean 'no.' 'No' very often means 'maybe later' and if he thinks you're flirting with him, he's going to think you want it. Establish your boundaries now, outside of a situation, so when something does happen, you can put your foot down and not mix your signals."

He also mentioned how, while weapons are great tools, most didn't have the time to use them. A few women asked the 'what if' questions. What if they found themselves in the dark alley anyway? What if they were in the back of some guy's truck and he got violent? What if some other woman started screaming at them and they had to take care of it?

His answer to all of it was "Why did you put yourself in that position to begin with?"

"Ninety percent of all situations had more than one participant," he said. "It's like what General Sephiroth talked about this morning. Just because you _think_ it was 'self-defense,' doesn't mean it _was_."

Yes, she remembered Sephiroth's lecture after Angeal's. He seemed okay, safely back in 'General' mode. Then, after the first five minutes, she had nearly forgotten anything was wrong. For all his stoicism, he really was a good teacher. In fact, he was really funny, if only because he was so sarcastic. The soldiers around her had hung on his every word but she saw a few of the older ones nodding now and then. He hadn't just been talking out of thin air. He knew, first hand, how these things happened.

As did Genesis. Charming and light-hearted though he was, Yanna could hear the sincerity in his voice.

"I want you to leave here smarter and more aware than when you came in. I'm not just talking because I like the attention, though you ladies have been wonderful. The most important thing we teach the soldiers is that you go home at the end of the day. And that's what I want you to remember."

Genesis spread his hands.

"I'm one man. I'll help if I can but you can't always rely on someone else to take care of you. You're women. You're the girlfriends and moms and sisters and daughters. Half the time, you'll be taking care of them, right? So be there to take care of them."

The last half hour was reserved for questions and a few of them did result in demonstrations. Much to Yanna's delight, the woman didn't get picked though a little girl, maybe fifteen, did. The poor thing was almost beside herself, crying and giggling and generally all over the place. Genesis was as sweet as ever and guided her through the demonstration, a little roleplay exercise of getting out of a man's grip.

"You're a cute little thing," he said. "And people snatch up cute little things, whether it's someone you know or not. Now here's what I want you to do."

That was probably the only time Genesis would ever just stand there and let someone hit him in the crotch. Yanna wished she had her phone out to record it. The girl, on the other hand, was mortified. She had just punched, kicked, and bit her future husband.

Genesis just waved her off with a bright smile, though he was favoring his middle a bit.

"It's fine, darling. You did a good job." Coughing, the general straightened and adjusted his uniform. "All right, so there's a test on our website if you want to take it, just to refresh your memory. Gets you a pretty little certificate that you can print out. There's also a physical test offered here on Thursday if you want to get a gun permit. I highly recommend taking that class and, if you can, CPR and first aid. Other than that, I think we're done. Have a good day, ladies. It was a pleasure."

The room applauded and he bowed with a great flourish before women started to trickle down for autographs. Yanna put away her things, waiting for the crowd to thin. It took a while. Everyone had something they wanted to say or ask. The shaman watched with a smile as she edged closer to the red general.

At last, Genesis caught a breath and gave her a hug.

"Enjoy yourself, darling?" he asked.

"A brilliant performance, as always." She frowned. "I'm a really violent person, aren't I?"

"Yes, why?"

"Just wondering. Ready to go?"

"I have to run by my office real quick. You're welcome to come with me, if you like."

"Great." Yanna followed him out of the room, sparing one last glance for that woman. "This whole 'same law for everyone' thing kind of sucks."

"Yes, but it's all got a point to it."

"Yeah, I know. But you guys understand. I think that's why I hang out with soldiers so much. Everyone else is just so squishy."

"Not everyone carries a foot long knife in their skirt, honey." Genesis held the door open for her and they made their way up to the less crowded halls leading to the Soldier building. It took a while but they weren't in any hurry and the glass and iron walkways that connected the buildings were pretty.

"Seph told me about last night," Genesis said quietly. "Pretty intense."

"Yeah, I've never heard him raise his voice before."

"Wait, what?" He stopped short. "He yelled at him?"

"Yeah. And cussed. I didn't even think Sephiroth _knew_ swear words. He never uses them."

"No, he wouldn't. Not around you. He's very careful." Genesis shook his head in bewilderment. "Goddess, I need a drink. Come on."

Yanna hurried to keep up with him.

"Should I not have told you?" she asked.

"Well, he certainly didn't. I know he was angry but…Did he talk about it?"

"Not really. He said he wouldn't make any decisions until after the conference."

When they reached his office, the redhead set his papers on the desk and started digging around in one of the file cabinets.

"I'm worried, Gen," Yanna said, folding her arms. "I don't know how to help."

"You've helped more than you realize." He stuck whatever reports he wanted in his laptop bag and slung it over his shoulder. "After you, darling."

"Thanks. What do you think we should do?"

"Well, I can think of a lot of things I'd like to do but I know me and I know my temper. We'd have to talk to Angeal first but Seph wants to tell him himself."

"So nothing for a while then." Sighing, she tucked some hair behind her ear. The walk back seemed longer somehow. "You think he'll go?"

"Yeah. If for nothing else than to prove Vincent wrong. Other than that…" Genesis shook his head then smiled. "You look lovely, sweetheart. New dress?"

?

It took Sephiroth nearly an hour and a half to escape the black hole that was the conference building. James waited patiently for him in the lobby, talking to Genesis, Angeal, and Yanna.

"Sorry," he said. As he approached, Cissnei and Missy walked in, each in green and blue dresses, respectively. Yanna smiled brightly at him then ran to hug the girls.

"Ready to go?" James asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry it took so long."

"Oh, it's fine. Now, who are these lovely ladies?"

Angeal beamed and drew Missy in for a quick kiss.

"Sweetheart, this is Colonel James Murron. James, this is my girlfriend, Celeste Abarthe. We call her 'Missy.'"

"So nice to meet you. Glad you're feeling better." James shook her hand and turned to Cissnei. "I remember you. Junon, a few years ago."

"Yeah, that was me." Cissnei shook his hand with a noticeably firmer grip.

"The poor colonel had to deal with the boys when they were teenagers," Yanna said. That drew a round of sympathetic noises from the girls and Missy gave him a hug.

"I know," James sighed, eating it up. "It was awful. All those late nights."

"Incredible," Genesis said. "A sixty-year-old man has more game than I do."

"I could have told you that," Sephiroth said.

"Time to go to the restaurant then?" Yanna asked.

"Sure. You want to ride with us, Colonel?" Cissnei asked. "Yanna, you don't get him this time."

"What?"

"He rode with you on the way here in the General's car. That means you got at least one embarrassing story and I want to hear about the Cinnabon Incident."

"You're a Turk!" Missy protested. "You probably know all about it already. Why can't he just ride with us?"

"Okay okay," James said. "How about I ride _to_ the restaurant with Genesis and Cissnei and _back_ to Sephiroth's house with Angeal and Missy. Sound fair?"

"Fine," the girls said. James just laughed and headed for the door, Missy and Cissnei on his arms.

"Can I still ride with you?" Yanna asked.

"Of course." He led the way out to his car. "It's different, isn't it?"

"Is it that obvious?" She grinned, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Yeah, it's different. But it's good, right?"

"It's supposed to be. Just learn what you can and ask questions when you need to."

"Yes, General."

"I thought I told you to call me 'Seph.'"

"Yeah, still trying to wrap my head around that."

"Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"Well, as you so deftly put it, I have your rank in my cleavage." She gave him an amused, if exasperated look. "Yes, it's a little weird."

When they arrived, the waiter showed them to a table in a private room of the restaurant and Sephiroth claimed the spot in the corner.

"You were racing for that spot, weren't you?" she asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Mm-hmm. Can I sit by you?"

He nodded, eyeing her.

"You don't have to ask permission for everything," he said. "You lived with me for a month."

She shrugged and sipped at the water that was already on the table.

"I just don't want you to get tired of me," she said. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes.

"Like he did."

"No! I didn't mean—"

"Yanna."

"I—okay. I won't do it as much."

"Thank you."

The rest of the group barged in at that point, James in the middle of some story or other. Their drink and food orders followed and Sephiroth felt Yanna settle a little closer to his side.

"Hey, Yanna, could I look at your notes?" Missy asked. "Angeal's been telling me all about it but you went to the Women's Class today, right?"

"Yeah. I have the workbook in my bag, if you wanna see."

"Sure."

The shaman handed over the blue book and Missy started flipping through it with Cissnei.

"Yup," the Turk nodded, reading her notes. "Yup, yup. Okay, no on that. We just shoot them."

"Not everyone has immunity at home, darling." Genesis took a drink of his wine.

"Too bad. Ooh, what are these? 'Fangirls are stupid.' Yeah, I'll drink to that. 'Sephiroth looks hot in leather.'"

The table burst out laughing and Yanna turned purple.

"It does not say that!" she cried.

"What's that right there?" Missy showed her some scribbles at the top of the page.

"'Sephiroth's a good teacher!' Gen referenced something from this morning." Yanna snatched back the book and stuffed it in her bag. "Can we talk about something else please? Gen, tell a story."

"Nope, we're still on this."

"James!"

The older man laughed and rubbed his hands together.

"Okay, I've got one. Every year where we live, in the spring, there are dozens of parades. Hundreds of thousands of people show up to these things. It's unreal. Regular soldiers get overtime just to help the police and peacekeepers direct traffic. There's drinking, food, women flashing for beads—"

"Aka Saturday Night at Gen's House," Angeal said.

"Oh come on, get it right. That's Friday night."

"Sorry, Saturday night's for the orgies."

"There ya go."

"So a few years ago, I'm working with the patrol units while the other half of the squad is doing parades. We get a domestic violence call. We assume someone's drunk, they got in a fight, and now they're calling 'foul.'"

"Most calls aren't legit," Sephiroth said.

"Yeah so we get there and this girl is sitting on the side of the road with her dad, face all cut up. She says her sister attacked her and the dad says the sister has been off her meds for a while." James rolled his eyes. "Oh crap. We go in, she's sitting on the couch, calm as could be, not a mark on her which means she wasn't defending herself. Either it didn't happen or she was the aggressor. An old lady is laying on another couch, her grandmother or aunt or something. We ask the girl 'did you attack your sister?' She starts going on about how she didn't start nuthin and we're just bein prejudice and all this other crap.

"Well, in domestic violence cases, we have to arrest the aggressor, or both if they're fighting. So we go to put handcuffs on her and she goes nuts. She starts screaming and spitting and fighting, punches my partner in the face. I pick her up and slam her into the carpet. The old lady goes crazy, 'stop hurting my baby, stop hurting my baby.'"

"Oh gosh," Missy said, leaning into Angeal.

"Wait for it," Genesis said.

"The girl starts screaming that she's the goddess. 'You're eeeeevil and you're trying to kill meee.'" The colonel contorted his face, making them all laugh. Sephiroth never tired of hearing these stories.

"We're dry-stunning this fruit with our tazers, finally get her in the car and we're driving her in, she's still screaming. Halfway to the station, she flips again. 'I'm Satan and I'm going to kill you all! I spit blood and _razorblades_!'"

"You're making this up!" Yanna accused.

"Hand to the goddess, this is all true. In the same half-hour, this woman was the goddess, the devil, the goddess' daughter, President Shinra, an Ancient, and the lead actress from 'Loveless.' I have never heard so many voice changes in my life. She said she'd burn us, throw us in the pit, kill us. And we kept wondering if we're the devil then shouldn't we be helping her instead of arresting her since she's the devil too and if she wasn't, then were just doing what we were made for and she couldn't yell at us. It was the best parade ever. Right up there with the queen's dress falling off."

"What happened to her?" Cissnei asked.

"She runs a daycare."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

They talked and drank long into the night until at last, they agreed that it was time to leave or they would have too bad of a hangover in the morning. James kept his word and went with Angeal and Missy while Yanna rode with Sephiroth to get her car.

"Thanks for inviting me," Yanna said sleepily.

"Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah, I had a great time." She yawned, stretching, and rubbed her eyes.

"Are you all right to drive home?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm okay. I'll just blast that Wutaian pop Zack gave me until I get home."

"That would do it. Are you coming tomorrow or do you have class?"

"I have clinicals in the morning but I'll be there for the afternoon."

Sephiroth nodded and got out to walk her to her car.

"Drive safely," he said.

"I will." She opened her door but turned and leaned on the frame. "I was the aggressor, wasn't I? With Tala."

He pursed his lips.

"Yes."

"It would have been murder there at the end."

"Yes."

She looked at her hands.

"I wanted it. I wanted her to stop."

"No. You wanted her to _pay_. You wanted her to suffer like you did and you enjoyed beating her into the ground. I've never seen that kind of bloodlust from you before." He met her eyes. "I don't ever want to see that again."

Yanna's eyes widened then she looked away, nodding.

"It just hurt," she whispered. "To think something so stupid and shallow was more important than me."

The irony was not lost on him. Sephiroth put his hands on the door frame.

"You're stronger than that."

"Sometimes. I probably won't be able to see you much the next couple weeks. School and everything. Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine."

"Okay. Hope you have a good time with the Colonel."

"I will; thank you. Have a good week."

"Kay, good night." She sat down in the driver's seat and made to shut the door but he caught it.

"You looked beautiful today."

Yanna blinked up at him, stunned, then turned to the steering wheel.

"Good night, Seph. Call me if you need anything."

"Good night." He watched her drive away before heading into his house. It was dark and chilled and he turned on a light on his way upstairs. He didn't dream that night. But when he woke the next morning, he thought he smelled cinnamon.

?

The training continued at breakneck speed. By the end of the conference, everyone was up to date on their certifications and the poor Academy students' heads were spinning. All in all, a successful year, even with the mild-to-massively-destructive firework incident in the gym. Reno was involved. Tseng was dealing with it.

Sephiroth spoke with both James and Marilyn a few times, as well as his generals. They all offered different advice but it mostly boiled down to they would support whatever decision he made. And, in Genesis' case, hate whomever he decided to hate. That last day, Sephiroth drove James to the airport after one last lunch.

"I want you to call me more often," James said. "Mary's been really worried about you."

"Yes, sir."

"And don't forget: you're family and I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, sir." Sephiroth shook his hand. "And thank you for coming."

"Anything for you, boy," James said, smiling. "Let me know how things turn out."

"I will. Have a good trip, sir."

The colonel gave him one last wave and headed off to find his gate. Suddenly the world outside the conference crashed back in. Sephiroth grit his teeth, mind racing. Could he really…

Whipping out his phone, the general called Angeal.

"I'm going to the Caves," he said. "I'm at the airport."

"What, now? Seph—"

"If I don't go now, I won't. Can you handle things here for a while?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're good here. Um, have you told Lazard?"

"Not yet."

"Don't worry about it. I'm on my way right now anyway."

"Thank you. And…"

"I'll tell Yanna too. Be careful, man."

"I will."

Sephiroth hung up and strode through the airport to the ticket counter.

"One to Nibelheim."

The World-Breaker had taken them to the mountain town years ago but he hadn't been back since. It was still strange to have a hometown, to know that he spent the first five years of his life in that decrepit mansion. Vincent had tried to take him back, claiming he still had so much to tell him about his mother and Chaos and other nonsense. Aeris also tried in her passive-aggressive, "the world is a pretty, shining bowl of wonderful" way. Just the thought of the flower girl made him want to brush his teeth.

Thankfully, the wait was short and Sephiroth soon found himself on his way to Mt. Nibel. The town would probably work itself into a frenzy by the time he arrived, the residents lining the streets to honor their great hero. Maybe he could sneak away without getting panties stuck in his hair again.

"Anything to drink, General?" the flight attendant paused with her cart of drinks and snacks.

"No, thank you." He turned to stare out the window. Puffy clouds billowed past, looking like so much cotton stretched underneath the aircraft. He remembered the first time he flew into the clouds. It wasn't pleasant in any sense of the word. By the time he broke through, the air had grown so thin, he could barely breathe and his wing was so cold and damp that the feathers were freezing together. Some of his hair had even frozen off in a rain of silver shards. Now he only went cloud-diving when he was feeling particularly masochistic, which didn't happen quite as often as it used to. Right after Makofall…he pushed the thought away. It was not a time he liked to remember. The man he was now, the man he wanted to become, looked on that facsimile of a hero with disgust and not a little bit of regret. With this trip, he hoped to do away with that entire person.

Folding his arms, Sephiroth closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep.

?

Nibelheim had blossomed in the last three years. Sephiroth barely recognized the town. Being able to claim the prestigious honor of his birthplace had drawn tourists from all over the world, feeding into the inns and market until the square resembled a less-seedy Sector 7. He couldn't fathom how they could cram so many shops and businesses onto such a small steppe but they really had no choice. Thanks to the land rehabilitation program, the surrounding desolation had grown into grain crops the height of his shoulder. Some braver people had built their houses into the slope of the mountains but Sephiroth could still see the remnants of construction around them. Apparently, the mountain was trying to fight back.

"General Sephiroth, sir!" The mayor trundled up to him in a blustering huff. "I'm so sorry, sir. We had no idea you were coming."

"It was a last minute decision."

Already a crowd had formed, their curious eyes making his skin crawl.

"I require a chocobo and no questions asked."

"Yes, sir, right this way."

The mayor showed him to the local stable in the lower end of town. The stable manager, a burly man that didn't look at all impressed with Sephiroth's person, showed him to the birds he thought would fit. The General chose a large, sleek black chocobo.

"A hundred," the stable manager said.

"Bob!" The mayor admonished. "Don't worry about it, General. It's complimentary."

"Fifty now," Sephiroth said. "Fifty when I return."

"Done. And twenty for the tack."

After paying the man, Sephiroth took the chocobo and rode out of the town before any autograph seekers found him.

"An extra hundred if you're out past dark!"

"Bob!"

?

"Everything's so different now," Sephiroth muttered. The chocobo tossed its head, oblivious or, more likely, not caring. He couldn't blame the beast. One rider was the same as the next. As long as it got fed and found adequate shelter, it would go anywhere with little fuss and that same bored look in its eye. He could relate.

Gradually, the terrain shifted from gentle slopes to more harsh crags and valleys. Fewer things grew here, maybe the odd shrub or some spindly grasses. A metallic taste in the air made him grimace. Mako.

He couldn't remember the first time he tasted Mako but he remembered his first time with people his own age. Being surrounded by these unenhanced, untrained, loud children had been more foreign to him than landing in a war zone. How was he possibly supposed to operate around people he could break with a flick of his fingers?

He had no idea. So he didn't. The first year in the academy had been negligible, the information contained therein barely a review for him. It wasn't until his second year that Angeal approached him.

"Hi, my name's Angeal. Wanna sit with us?"

The two Banorans were foreign and strange and wonderful. Angeal was patient, didn't think he was a freak. Genesis was quick and witty, didn't get offended when he said something deadpan. He gravitated to them and, together, they climbed the ranks of the Academy. Then, when they got their first Mako shots, he was there to talk them through the high, the shakes, and the inevitable crash. He wondered idly if he had thrown up so much during his first time.

His chocobo squawked and Sephiroth looked up to see a small, crooked waterfall. Just like Vincent said.

"Stay here," he told the bird. The chocobo tossed its head again and started to hunt for seeds and insects.

He got as far as the bank before he stopped and went back to Nibelheim.

?

The second day, he was accosted by a short, graying woman with glasses while he was eating breakfast.

"General Sephiroth, how is Cloud?"

"You must be Mrs. Strife."

The hotel dining room was empty at this hour of the day but that would change quickly.

"I haven't heard from him in so long," she went on, wringing her hands. "No call, no letter, nothing."

"Your son is doing well. Training is intensive. I'm sure he will contact you when he gets the chance."

"I hope he doesn't get sick. I sent him new long underwear but I don't know if he got them. They're the rabiroo ones he likes."

Sephiroth suddenly felt an immense amount of pity for the boy.

"He's fine, ma'am."

After half a dozen more assurances and yet more information than he ever wanted to know about the state of his subordinate's undergarments, Sephiroth escaped.

On the other end of town, the Shinra Mansion remained much as it had the last forty years. Broken windows caught the sunlight like so many broken teeth. Stones fell at random from the surrounding wall, losing miserably to the vines. The gate had rusted, the hinges so weak the whole thing hung at an angle. Sephiroth crushed the lock with one hand and went inside. Dust rose up from the carpet with every step. He sneezed, wincing at the echo. Amazing how much filth could accumulate in a few years.

He found himself in the library, a great, round room with rolling ladders and large tables. Books and papers lay where they had landed after Makofall. He could still see Genesis throwing them in disgust, Angeal sitting at the table in mortified awe. The information was erroneous, as they learned from the Turks, but the procedures were all too accurate. They recognized the experiments, the tests they had undergone as children. The notes may have been clinical and detached but, in some ways, that made it worse.

Sephiroth swept his eyes around the shelves.

"_This is it." The World-Breaker stood just inside the door. "This is where I gave up. I could have done anything, could have protected my men. But I didn't."_

_He had dyed his hair black, cut it to his shoulders, and his clothes looked plucked off the street. But it was still distasteful to hear such words from his mouth. Sephiroth didn't bother hiding his disdain. _

"_Why didn't you?" he asked. The World-Breaker didn't answer. _

"_Sir." The deference, so familiar to Sephiroth's ears, seemed to startle his doppelganger. The white-haired Genesis stepped carefully into their periphery. _

"_We're running out of time."_

_The World-Breaker shook himself then turned on his heel._

"_If you come back," he said. "Leave your weapons at the door. You won't like what you find."_

Sephiroth shook his head. Many sleepless nights followed. Analyzing, debating, fighting, just trying to wade through the hundreds of lines of _wrong_ had taken months of work. He could not articulate how furious he had been, still was. But it would not happen again. The three of them had made copies of relevant information and the General himself had bought the house. Someday, he would come back and correct all of this mess.

Not today.

Shoving what books were on the floor closer to the shelves, Sephiroth left and proceeded to make sure all the rooms were locked.

?

'Are you okay?'

Sephiroth sat on his bed that night, staring at the text message. Yanna. His thumb hit call a second before he realized it was three in the morning.

"H-hello?"

He winced.

"I'm sorry, Shiushan. Go back to sleep."

"No, Seph, wait!" Sheets rustled. "Seph? You still there?"

"Yes." The general rubbed his bridge of his nose. "Yanna. I want to ask you something and if I've overstepped my bounds, tell me."

"Okay."

"What was your mother like?"

Sheets rustled again and he thought he heard a lamp click.

"She was beautiful," Yanna said. "She had the most beautiful voice. She used to dance with me and we'd braid each other's hair while we watched the storms…oh, Seph, you would've loved her."

He could hear the tears in her voice. It made his throat tighten.

"Go on."

"Koda was born when I was twelve. It was a hard birth and she couldn't breastfeed but we all helped her and she always made time for me. Then she started getting really tired. The…winter I was fourteen, she got sick. Really sick. We did all we could, asked everyone we could, and she got better for a while. But…she got sick again."

Her voice grew quieter, her breathing more labored.

"I still remember…I had nightmares. A lot. Grandmother would just tell me to forget them and go get water or take care of Koda or something. Which I thought was strange because she always listened to my dreams before. Mama told me not to worry. Then, one day, I was out giving Koda a bath. Akren was there and we were talking. It was so pretty. It was warm and the sun was out and Koda and I were splashing and playing. Suddenly, I got really nauseous. I left Koda with Akren and ran home. I wasn't…I couldn't go fast enough."

Sephiroth closed his eyes.

"Mama was on the floor by the fire. She wouldn't wake up. I shook her and shook her but she wouldn't wake up. Papa heard me screaming. Grandmother came in, all the women and healers. We put Mama in her bed and the healing songs started while Grandmother worked. I stayed up all night, held her hand. I could barely hear her breathing…I remember talking to her, I don't know what I said, and I tried singing, pulling at her heart, massaging her face, all the healing tricks. And…that morning…"

She faltered, her voice dissolving into quiet sobs. He leaned forward on his knees, his head in his hand. His chest ached and his eyes burned in the dark.

"Do you blame her?" he asked.

"Yeah," she whispered thickly. "Sometimes."

"You look like her."

"Papa says so." The shaman sniffed, tried to collect herself. "I hear it more now than I did when I was little."

"She would be proud of you."

"Sometimes. Sephiroth…I will never hear her sing again. I will never get to tell her about you or Gen or the boys or Koda. But if there's even a chance, then you need to finish this. For good or bad, let it be done."

The general nodded, his mouth tight, then remembered she couldn't see him.

"Yes, ma'am," he said. "Go back to sleep. I'll be home soon."

He hung up and tossed his phone on the bed. Moonlight filtered in through the homespun curtains, falling in patches over the carpet. He walked over to the window and stared out at the dark, sleepy town. High above, clouds shifted, casting his reflection on the glass. The ache in his chest grew, a yawning maw that clawed and pulled at his heart. At least the World-Breaker thought his mother was a victim. At least he thought his mother wanted him.

Swallowing hard, Sephiroth let the curtain drop and got into bed.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The passage up to the cave was damp, cramped, and reeked of mold. Wet lichen covered the rocks, making his boots slip in inconvenient places. Daylight was soon replaced with the dim half-light of his eyes. The tunnel reeked of Mako, made him sneeze hard enough to knock his head on a rock. He would have to report the possible existence of a fissure. He'd be damned if his men got sick because of something else harvested here.

Suddenly the tunnel fell away into a large, open chamber. Shards of crystallized Mako covered the floor, some the length of his thigh.

_Sephiroth…_

He continued until the shards grew bigger, brighter. Large enough for a person. Steeling himself, Sephiroth forced himself to study the massive crystals growing from the back of the cave.

_My son…_

His eyes flicked to a crystal the size of an upturned car, its surface marred with the claws and teeth of hungry beasts. Inside, a woman with brown hair, wearing a long white dress hung suspended in the Mako. His stomach churned. He supposed she was pretty, her dainty form not looking a day over twenty-five, but he couldn't bring himself to call her "beautiful."

"Lucrecia." The name was ash on his tongue. Remnants of a rudimentary camp crunched under his boot as he stopped at the base of the crystal. Vincent had probably been here, mourning his lost love. Sephiroth didn't have the energy to feel contempt.

"So," he said. "You are alive."

The woman didn't move, couldn't, but he felt the pull. According to the research, her dear husband had injected her with Jenova cells as well. Maybe he thought it would make her stronger or some other nonsense.

Pain welled in his throat, stinging his eyes. He shook his head sharply.

"Is that supposed to be an apology?"

The pain grew sharper, more heartbreaking.

"_Stop_." He pushed back. The other will buckled, recoiled as if he'd slapped her.

"I have no interest in your weak attempts at reconciliation." He folded his hands in front of him, as much for the familiarity as for something to do with them. "I came here for my own closure, nothing more."

Keening pierced his mind, so loud he could almost hear it. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"How dare you," he said. "How dare you try to make me feel guilty. You walked into that nightmare willingly. You let that man _touch_ you."

He swallowed bile. Yanna made a mistake. She was a child who truly didn't know any better than to believe the fanciful lies the fool had fed her. But Lucrecia was a grown woman. Yes, young, but she couldn't have been such a high-ranking scientist and still be innocent.

"You knew what he was. You knew what he was capable of."

Images flashed through his mind. A woman screaming in agony. Nurses spiriting away a baby still covered in blood. The woman reaching, fighting, until she passed out.

"I have no sympathy. Maybe you did want to leave. Maybe Hojo did manipulate you enough that you stayed out of fear. But you still stayed."

He glanced at his boots.

"The madness will end with me. Hundreds of thousands of men, children, have suffered because of those projects. I will not allow the repercussions to hurt my people any longer."

Bone-deep sorrow shuddered through him and he looked up at her.

"I could accept that my mother died in childbirth. I would try to imagine what she looked like, why my father cast me away. I built an entire fantasy world where everything was fine. I planned and rehearsed what I would say if I ever found you again.

"Then I learned the truth. Vincent paints you as a goddess on earth. Aeris says you were a victim like anyone else. Maybe that's true. But that doesn't change what happened."

Green eyes studied her pale face, so familiar yet so…alien. Soft brown curls fell around her cheeks like his bangs and small, dainty hands hung by her sides. He used to think his mother must be the most breathtaking woman in the world but now…

"I will not come here again. If Vincent somehow manages to pry you from this miserable rock, you will not contact me. Ever. The boy I was needed you but the man I am now…is done with you. Goodbye, Lucrecia."

Sephiroth turned on his heel and left.

?

"—_near, far, wherever you are_…"

Yanna sat on her couch, a four-inch-thick book in her lap, a notebook on top of that, a highlighter in her mouth, and a pencil in her hand. It was cumbersome but it worked and these medical books were too heavy to move back and forth twenty times in just as many minutes. She tried doing it one handed once and nearly fell on her face.

Beside her, the voice of a Loveless Ave star crooned out of her stereo to the strains of violins and some instrument she couldn't identify. She sang along sometimes, then she would get to a particularly hard passage and lose her place in the song. Then the reverse would happen and she would have to read the same page two or three more times.

She had just found her spot again when someone knocked on the door.

"Just a sec!" she called. The knocking grew louder. She sighed and began the arduous process of untangling herself from the blanket and books that were her nest.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Glancing through the peephole, she frowned and opened the door. "General? When did you get back?"

"Just now," Sephiroth said. Wolf, he looked tired.

"Uh, do you wanna come in?" Yanna stepped aside and the General walked into her small living room.

"Titanic?" he asked.

"It helps me study."

Sephiroth gave her an odd look.

"Can I get you something to drink?" she asked.

"Just some water. Please."

"Okay. Have a seat anywhere."

He sat down in her one fluffy chair and she brought him a glass of water.

"Sorry about the mess," she said, quickly putting away her things. "Are you hungry?"

"No. I'm fine."

She stuffed her books and blanket on the far side of the couch and sat down.

"So…did you have a good trip?"

Sephiroth blinked at her.

"Okay," she said, nodding. "Um…I got an invitation to the Winter Ball today. It's in Costa Del Sol this year. I've never been able to go before but Missy and Cissnei said they wanted to go shopping for dresses later this week. Sounds like fun. I'm not sure why I got one. I'm not really a consultant or head of the rehab program anymore but…"

She shrugged, fiddling with her pajama pants. Darn. It would be the fuzzy ones with the dancing penguins.

"Have you talked to Angeal? I think he said something about having a barbecue soon. Gen just wants to drink. He was going on about some new wine he found and how old it is and how fine the vintage was…Ciss threatened to pour it on him. It was great."

Sephiroth's mouth twitched. Gloved fingers toyed with the edge of the glass.

"Do you think I'll ever have children?" he asked. Yanna blinked.

"I…I don't know. Do you want children?"

"No."

"Then you probably won't."

He nodded, as if she had confirmed something.

"I should go," he said, standing. "I'm sorry I disturbed your studies."

"Oh no, it's okay. Um, you don't have to go if you don't want to. We could watch a movie."

"No. Thank you. I have to get up in the morning."

"Okay. Hey, Seph?"

He stopped at the door.

"If you ever…did decide to have kids," she said, coming closer. "I think you'd be a great father."

Sephiroth frowned at her.

"Why do you say that?"

"Cuz I know you." She shrugged, folding her arms. "I'm glad you're home safe."

The General opened the door but froze in the doorway. Yanna watched him, worried.

"Maybe a short movie," he said.

"Okay. You can take your boots and coat off, if you want. Do you want something easy or violent?"

"I don't care."

"Kay. How about Kenshin?"

"That's fine." He proceeded to take off his boots, armor, and coat, leaving him in travel worn pants and socks that would probably have holes in them soon.

"Do you wanna sit with me?" She put in the wandering swordsman movie and took back her spot on the couch. Sephiroth sat next to her without a word while she spread her blanket. He pushed it off his leg.

"Sorry."

?

In her defense, Yanna really did try to stay awake. But between the clincals, homework, and spending time with the girls, she hadn't slept well the last week. Without something immediate to focus on, she started to drift. She didn't even realize she had fallen asleep until Sephiroth moved and she gasped awake.

"Did I scare you?" Sephiroth said, mild amusement glinting in his eyes.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's all right. You've been busy."

"Yeah but did I miss anything? Did you need something?"

"Relax, Shiushan." The General leaned back on the couch. "You can use my shoulder again, if you want."

She could feel her cheeks heat up as she gingerly laid her cheek on his shoulder.

"It's done," he said quietly. Yanna didn't move.

"The experiments left her whole and somewhat conscious. She could communicate, at least. No words. She couldn't move but…emotions."

He sighed, his shoulder shifting underneath her.

"She was in pain. And I couldn't find it in me to care. I just said my piece and left."

"What did you say?"

"That I was done with her and I was never coming back."

She nodded, raising one hand to lightly touch his arm.

"I used to imagine her singing to her stomach like you did to Meara's child," he said. "Buying clothes. Decorating. My father grieving and…I think I can empathize. It hurt to think I reminded him of my mother so much that he would leave but, after Makofall, I understood. And for years, that was the story in my head. I was from a broken home but that was normal. A lot of kids were."

He rubbed his eyes and the bridge of his nose.

"I don't _want_ this. I don't want the heritage of that madman and I don't _care_ how scary the bastard could be. A strong enough woman could have broken free. Marilyn Murron could have two broken legs, a sword through her belly, and one eye hanging out and she would still fight for a child, even if it wasn't hers. It just…" His voice caught and he looked at his hands. "It just sucks."

Yanna tightened her grip, nuzzling his arm.

"And on top of all that," he said. "I have to look like the slut."

"Oh, I don't know." Sitting up, the shaman made a show of studying his face. Sephiroth eyed her warily.

"If you say I look like Hojo, I will throw you off this couch."

"Well, it's kind of hard to tell, Seph. You actually bathe." She frowned, leaning over to look at him straight-on. He had always been pretty, like James said. It wasn't something he would ever get away from. But the angles of his cheeks, his jaw, were strong, masculine without being bulky or sharp. Flawless, porcelain skin felt smooth under her fingertips, his silky bangs brushing the back of her hand. Green eyes, dark around the edges and flecked with the tiniest specks of blue, watched her as she slid her fingers down his cheek.

"You do look like her around your eyes," she admitted. "I don't see him at all, except maybe your nose. I can't really tell. But with your hair and eyes, you look more exotic than anything."

"So I'm a pet now."

Images of him shirtless and tied to a bedpost rose unbidden and she flinched away, blinking furiously. Mischief danced in his eyes.

"You kinky little mouse," he said.

"What?"

"You just thought of something perverted. I saw it on your face."

"No, I just…you're all worried about looking weird but it's not that bad. I'd do stuff with you." She clapped her hand over her mouth. "No! I didn't mean it like that!"

"So you think I'm ugly."

"No! I—" She spotted the faintest twitch of his mouth and she huffed, smacking him with a throw pillow. "You're such a brat! You want some ice-cream?"

She stomped off into the kitchen and proceeded to dig rather viciously into the tub of vanilla ice-cream. A deep rumble at her back made her jump.

"Don't do that!" she said, whirling into Sephiroth's chest. The General chuckled a little louder and touched under her chin.

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?"

"Making me laugh."

"Brat." She gave him his bowl and followed him back into the living room.

"Did I embarrass you?" he asked.

"Eh. No worse than Gen and Cissnei."

"What did they do?"

She rolled her eyes.

"I told them how bad I freaked out about the chick doctor and they went out and got me things to 'play with.'"

The General frowned slightly then his eyes lit up.

"Shiushan, did you get some sex toys?"

"Oh my gosh." She covered her face. "You really just asked that?"

"You walked into it. Did you?"

"Yeah," she admitted. "Found a bag in my mailbox, no markings, no name. Just a note inside from the two of them on how to use what and make sure the lights are off and that I'm alone and relaxed and it's just awful."

He looked entirely too amused by the whole thing.

"And has it helped?"

"No! It's horrible. I hate seeing myself naked; I hate the way I feel. I don't even look in the mirror when I take a shower."

Sephiroth hummed and set his bowl on the coffee table.

"Maybe you should do it in the shower then," he said. "I do."

"You—" Oh, wow. Sephiroth naked, wet, eyes closed in—

"You're staring."

She shook her head to clear it.

"Sorry."

"Do I need to leave you alone for a few minutes?"

"Shut up! It's your fault for putting it in my head to begin with."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Uh-huh. I guess I should be grateful you haven't told me about any of your conquests."

"Conquests?" He tilted his head. "I'm a virgin, Shiushan."

"W-what? How is that possible?"

"What do you mean: how is that possible? I kept my pants up."

"Yeah but…you could have anyone you wanted."

He shrugged.

"Not important to me."

"Huh." Yanna stirred at the melted ice-cream in her bowl. "I'm proud of you."

"For keeping it in my pants?"

"No." She smacked his leg. "For taking care of things."

He was silent for a moment.

"You just want me naked."

"Seph!" Her hands shot out, ruffling his bangs.

"Hey!"

She jumped off the couch but he caught her, nimble fingers dancing over her sides. She jerked in response.

"Oh, are you ticklish?" he asked.

"No!" Her squirming called her bluff and she collapsed in a fit of giggles. Sephiroth set her down on the floor.

"Brat," she said, looking up from between his knees. He smiled and gently turned her face to the light.

"You do look like her," he said.

"Yeah?"

"Yes. Except for that." He tugged on the lock of silver hair, making her grin.

"Will you be okay?" she asked.

"Eventually. Now I should be going. I really do have to get up in the morning."

"Okay." Yanna tried to get out of his way but her feet stuck in the blanket. The general caught her as he stood, his body strong and solid against her.

"Too much to drink?" he asked.

"Hush." She straightened, shivering at his warm arms on her back. "Um..."

Her fingertips brushed the coiled muscles in his stomach and she flinched away, her face heating.

"I'll get your boots."

"Thank you." He kept a hand on her elbow to steady her.

"Will I see you this week?" she asked.

"Perhaps." He sat back down to fight with his boots, kicking the blanket out of the way. "I'll call you."

"Okay." She watched him replace his coat and armor. "Oh, and call Angeal when you get a chance. He's been in full Mother Hen mode all weekend."

"I'll try to put him back in his cage tomorrow. Thank you for talking with me."

"I don't think I helped much but you're welcome," she said, walking him to the door. "You okay to drive home?"

"I'm fine. Shiushan?"

"Hmm?"

"The valium that you got from the gynecologist. I never replaced it."

"Oh, don't worry about that. It's okay."

"So you've already gone?"

"Uh no." She glanced down at her toes. "No, I'm not going."

"So you've started your cycle."

"No."

Sephiroth tilted his head.

"Because of me?" he asked.

"No! No, I've just been really busy and I haven't felt anything wrong so I'm not going to worry about it. The last couple months without cramps have been great."

Green eyes narrowed.

"You said they told you to come back with someone. Take me."

"What? No, I can't ask you to do that. You've got plenty of stuff going on. It's not important."

"If it concerns your health then it's important. Take me with you."

Yanna opened her mouth to protest.

"Make an appointment tomorrow," he said. "I'll drive."

"You're not giving me a choice, are you?"

"No."

"I really don't like how bossy you are."

"Then do something about it."

"Good _night_, Seph."

The General nodded to her, smirking, and left. Yanna rolled her eyes.

"Bastard."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"Yup."

"'Yup' what?"

Genesis just flicked his hair out of his face and leaned back on the couch.

"So," he said. "Winter Ball."

"Yes, I know it's coming up." Sephiroth threw a pen at his friend without looking up. "Why are you always in my office?"

"Because Zack is always in Angeal's office."

"Or you could, I don't know, work."

"And what's the point of that when I have such a lovely arrangement here with you? By the way, have you given any thought to the Academy graduation ceremony?"

"No, I thought I'd let you handle the dramatics this year."

"Oh, I knew that. I was just asking to be polite. I was actually planning on having the three of us do a little dance number to give the fangirls a thrill."

"I will light you on fire."

"Put velcro on our clothes, rip 'em off at the last minute."

"Get out."

Genesis laughed and started twirling the thrown pen in his fingers.

"Back to the Winter Ball then," he said. "Angeal is asking Missy and Cissnei has to go. Yanna got her invitation so we were wondering if you would consider us all just renting a three bedroom suite for the weekend."

"Three?" Sephiroth shot him a look.

"Fine," the redhead smirked. "Four. What do you say?"

"No."

"I already made the reservations."

"Why do we even have these conversations?"

"I am _really_ bored."

"Clearly." The general returned to the half-read report in his hands. "Gen."

"Hmm?"

"Did you really buy Yanna toys?"

Genesis couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, she told you, did she? Yes, Ciss and I really did. Why? You want some too?"

"_No_."

"Really? I don't mind. Although I think we covered most of that in the Academy."

"You can leave."

All he got in response was his friend's sniggering. It annoyed him but he didn't want to throw another pen. He kept losing them as it was.

"You wanna talk about it?" Genesis asked. Sephiroth looked up and noted the concern in the other soldier's expression. Not a dig, then. He must mean the impromptu trip to Nibelheim.

"No," Sephiroth dropped his eyes. "I'll see you later, Gen."

"Kay. I expect to see you at Angeal's. If I have to hear another hour-long exposition about how wonderful and amazing Missy is, I will stab myself in the eye with a spoon."

"And how will my presence make any difference?"

"Seph, you know that joke about 'I don't have to be faster than the bear. I just have to be faster than you'?"

"Bastard." He grinned. "Out."

"Toodles, darling."

"Uh no."

"Yeah, that felt wrong." Genesis waved his fingers. "Later, Seph."

"Bye. Wait." Sephiroth held up an envelope with a ridiculously large, gold seal stamped onto the back. "What is this?"

"That's a letter, darling. I'm sure you've seen them before."

The silver general narrowed his eyes at the seal before ripping it open.

"What is it doing on my desk?" he asked, scanning the expensive paper. "What the hell is this?"

Genesis cleared his throat and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"In my defense, I've been trying to field them for months."

"Why?" Green eyes flashed. "Marriage? Are they insane?"

"Seph, the Platagnets are the most powerful family on the Western Continent. I've told them 'no' for almost a year now but I guess they wouldn't take that so…they went over my head."

"Clearly."

"It's just political. You know that."

"I am not marrying that whore." A flick of his wrist and the letter went up in flames. Sephiroth smacked the ash off his desk. "Who knows about this?"

"Just us. And Rufus, obviously. Probably Tseng."

"Keep it that way."

"Yes, sir." Genesis touched his forehead in a small salute and vanished, leaving Sephiroth to sigh and rub his eyes. What he wouldn't give to just be in the rank and file again. Of all the ludicrous ideas—he clamped down on the thought. Rolling his shoulders, the general focused on the next stack of work on his desk. The clock couldn't drag like this forever.

?

"Breathe." Sephiroth turned the page, watching Yanna bounce her leg out the corner of his eye. They sat in the waiting room of a fairly nice doctor's office. It was definitely designed for women, what with the cream-colored walls, brocade couches, and ornate molding. He could _feel_ the estrogen in the air.

Or maybe that was the not-so-subtle stares from the other women waiting for their turn. The only other male in the vicinity was a two-year-old playing in the corner. Everyone else, whether they had a silver "SE" embroidered on their purses or not, was either drooling over him or glaring daggers at Yanna. There was no doubt in his mind that this visit would spark more vicious rumors. The Great General at the gynecologist with a woman? Oh Gaia, she must be pregnant.

Well, he had certainly endured worse "pregnancy" rumors. At least he knew this woman.

Said woman took to twisting her purse strap in her hands. Her heart beat a hundred miles an hour and he could smell the sweat around her neck.

"They hurt you last time," he said softly. She jumped, blinked owlishly at him, then nodded.

"Ms. Yanna?" the nurse called. Yanna took a shaky breath and got up to follow the nurse into the back. Sephiroth stayed on her heels, a black and silver ghost. Other nurses gawked, their eyes prickling along his spine. He ignored them and sat down in the specified examination room.

Yanna stood next to the table, a padded thing that looked more like a couch than a doctor's table, and pawed at the little gown they gave her.

"Do I need to leave?" he asked.

"What? N-no." She grabbed the gown and stepped behind a screen to change. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I wouldn't be too keen on something going in there either."

"They asked if I was sexually abused last time. Just so casual like 'oh have you been raped before, sweetie'? Even if I was, why would you ask like that?"

Yanna stepped from behind the screen and sat down on the table.

"This is all so stupid. I'm sorry I dragged you here."

He flicked her sharply in the arm.

"Stop it. It's my job."

She looked entirely too grateful for such a simple statement.

"All right, Ms. Yanna." An older woman with curly grey hair and a white coat walked in. "Good to see you back, swee—General Sephiroth!"

"Not important."

"Right." The woman shot Yanna a questioning look but didn't comment. "Okay, since we did everything else last time, I think we should just jump on in and get it over with, okay?"

"Okay."

"Put the blanket on your lap and scoot up to the edge. Good girl, now lay back and put your feet in the stirrups. Are you comfortable?"

"Yeah." Her voice sounded so tiny. It made him want to scoop her up and carry her away. Instead, he moved to stand next to her head, out of sight of her business.

"Okay," the woman said, Joan by her name-tag. "Relax all the muscles from your waist down. I'm going to touch your leg so you know where I am."

Yanna nodded, a short jerky movement, then winced.

"Ah ah, breathe, honey."

The shaman took a breath and Joan moved again.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered. He smelled blood and he looked down to see her hand clenching something. He carefully pried her hand open and removed the star pendant from her palm. She looked up at him, terrified. Suddenly he was back in her father's tent, healing her from the Culling when she was still in shock from the trauma. All she knew then was the pain. Her eyes sought his as a wild animal searching for stability and he wasn't sure she even recognized him. It had been enough that he wasn't a threat.

But whatever Joan was doing was pushing her closer and closer to that frenzy. He slipped his hand in hers and she clamped down with surprising ferocity. They said they checked for her hymen but he didn't know how kind or invasive that had been. Maybe it really could be called 'abuse.'

"You realize we'll never hear the end of this," he said. "Gen will never let it go."

Yanna's mouth twitched.

"He'll probably joke about what happened," she said tightly.

"And he'll ask if I looked."

"You didn't, did you?"

"No. Although I could win the bet if I did."

"What?" She gaped. "You wouldn't!"

"Ah, I don't have to now. You just confirmed where it was."

"But-but—that's cheating!"

"No, that's strategy."

"I'm going to stab you." A little laugh escaped her, followed by another wince.

"You're doing great, sweetheart," Joan said. "When you laugh, it relaxes everything down here. General, be funny."

"Two men walked into a bar—"

"No!" Yanna cried. "No, no stupid jokes."

"Fine. Did I ever tell you about when I first got underwear thrown at me?"

"What?"

"We were fifteen, coming back from a mission in Junon. I'd grown accustomed to the press because it was Shinra but there were so many _women_."

"Your first fangirls."

"They lost their minds when they saw us. It was like a rock concert. People were screaming, taking pictures, jumping barricades. I saw more breasts in a five-minute span than I have in the seventeen years since."

"Good grief, I bet Gen was in heaven."

"He ate it up. Then they started throwing things and I had no idea how to respond. Angeal panicked and ran inside. Gen picked up some panties and stuck them in his pocket—"

"Gross!"

"I got a thong stuck in my hair."

"What?!"

"I didn't know it was there. I had to go into a debriefing like that."

Yanna started giggling, a light, happy sound that made him smile.

"Lazard picked this hot pink _thing_ out of my hair in front of the board. Thankfully, Angeal was there and cobbled together some kind of excuse but Genesis was no help at all."

"Of course not."

"I punched him when we got out."

She just kept laughing. It sounded a little nervous but 'nervous' was much better than 'terrified.'

"That's not the worst of it," Sephiroth went on. "Just last year I got a bra stuck in my hair—"

"Well, if your hair wasn't so long."

"—And that's not counting the gifts they send me."

"I thought the mail room pulled all your fan stuff."

"Not at first. They didn't start that until we started getting naked pictures of potentially underage girls."

"Wooow."

"And the vibrator."

"Now you're just making stuff up."

"I swear this is all true. I had no idea what that was either. Just turned it on and it started moving. I thought it was going to eat me."

Yanna laughed a little stronger this time.

"Oh wow. Ugh, that feels weird."

Sephiroth glanced over at Joan.

"Just the swab," she said. "Almost done."

The woman removed the first instrument and did something else with one hand down and one hand on Yanna's abdomen.

"Okay! You're done, sweetie."

Sephiroth helped her sit up, careful of the blanket.

"So go ahead and change," Joan said. "And when you're done, just pay the lady at the end of the hall and in a week or so, you can call and get your results."

"And my cycle?"

"It could just be stress but we'll know more when the tests come back. You said you've been irregular in the past so the doctor will probably want to put you on some birth control pills to help regulate it."

"Birth control?"

"Hormones, Shiushan," Sephiroth said.

"Oh. Thank you, Joan. And I'm sorry it was such a big deal."

"It's okay, sweetie." The woman gave her a hug, shook his hand, and left.

"Wow," Yanna said. "That was embarrassing."

"You almost got me naked."

The shaman ducked her head, smiling.

"Thank you, Sephiroth."

"You're welcome." He took her hand and quickly healed the little cuts on her palm. But there were still marks in almost the exact same places, white scars in a jagged circle pattern. He rubbed his thumb over them.

"You hold your necklace often?"

She tried to pull away but he grabbed her wrist.

"Just the once," she said. "It kept me from screaming."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Yanna glanced down at her hand.

"I just wanted to forget," she whispered. "I can deal with the Culling. It hurt but…they pried me open. Their fingers and their nails…it hurt so _bad_. And then when I got out there…I can still hear them cheering. Like some sick New Year's Eve countdown. I don't dream about the scourging. I dream about the _cheering_."

Two tears leaked out the corners of her eyes and he reached up to wipe them away. She bowed her head, leaning into his touch. Something in his chest twisted and he inhaled cinnamon and disinfectant.

"Get dressed," he said, straightening. "I'll wait for you in the hall."

"Yes, General."

?

"Do you need to go anywhere else?" Sephiroth asked when they got to his car.

"I don't think so."

"Do you want me to take you home then?"

Yanna hesitated, chewing on her lip. She probably should be getting home. There was always work to do for her classes and mid-terms were coming up soon. But just the thought of going in there and seeing all the blankets and beads and the birth-shield over her bed…

"Could…could we go back to your house?" she asked. "I'm sorry. If you have something you need to do…"

"No, I'm fine. I took the rest of the day off." The general tilted his head. "I could play the piano for you."

"Really?" She couldn't help the smile that lit up her face and he grinned.

"Home, it is," he said. Yanna settled back and watched the city go by as he drove, buildings growing more and more familiar the closer they got to his house. She had never really taken the time to notice the neighborhood. Sure, she knew it was 'nice' but the houses gradually grew bigger, grander with columns and gates and perfect hedges.

Sephiroth's house sat a ways apart from all of those, on its own property with a fair bit of grass and trees surrounding it. Red brick walls lined the property, ending in a large circle gate. Inside, the yard swept up into long, shallow wooden stairs to the foyer. Both it and the two-story house behind it nestled into the hill, almost purely Wutaian with curved green roof tiles, smooth red columns, and screen walls. In Wutai, the screens would have been paper but here, Sephiroth had used some kind of salvaged material designed to insulate the house and still let in light. She still wasn't quite sure how he did that.

The front door itself swung open like doors she was accustomed to, opening to a small inset with a shelf for shoes. Hardwood floors stretched out in a large open space. To the left, screen doors opened to the dining room and further off, the laundry room. The kitchen was directly ahead and to the left with dark appliances and a granite counter-top island. More screen doors to the left opened to the guest bathroom and utility closets then in the back right corner sat the living room with its flat-screen tv. Stairs reached up on the far side of the kitchen to the second floor and she let her hand trail the banister as she ascended.

Her feet crunched pleasantly on the tatami mats lining the floor up here. Guest bedrooms, including the one she'd used and the one Cissnei claimed, ran along the right wall next to a long, empty room he used for training. His room, truly a master bedroom, took up the entire front left side of the house, including his bathroom and closet. That night was the first time she'd ever been in there.

"Make yourself comfortable," Sephiroth said. "I'll be right back."

"Okay." She watched him go into his room before she walked over to the raised, wooden platform across from the staircase. Bookshelves lined the two walls and in the middle, in all its glory, sat his grand piano. She had only ever seen such a thing on television. Genesis said he had one as a child but he preferred the violin and would rather use that space for his books or paintings.

Her fingers trailed along the black lacquered top, raised for better sound, he'd said. She sat down on the bench, grimacing at how cold it was. Sephiroth refused to keep the house any warmer than sixty-eight degrees and if he had carpet, that wouldn't be so bad. As it was, she remembered her toes always being cold.

Sighing, Yanna glanced at his door. Still closed. Maybe she could get it ready for him? She carefully opened the lid and tried to slide it back without breaking anything. She didn't have anything to worry about. Of course Sephiroth would maintain it.

Underneath, ivory and black keys shone in the warm yellow light and she smiled, touching the smooth surfaces. What was that song again? She pressed a couple keys. Not the right note. She moved further up the keys and tried again. There, that was closer. She fumbled a bit until a tune started to form. Not perfect but enough for her to hum with it.

Suddenly pale, slender hands descended on either side of hers. The melody flowed from his fingers and she smiled up at him, scooting under his arm.

"You know this song?" she asked.

"I heard it on the radio once," he said.

"Once?"

"Maybe twice." The general moved to a slightly deeper octave and she could hear the verses start to take shape. It was beautiful and heartbreaking and soothing all at once. Suddenly she felt so tired. Drained, as if a wave had slammed into her and she was still floating, trying to see where she was. She could hardly believe it was over. It was like this appointment had been the last wound of what they did to her. She was okay, just exhausted. And this wonderful man beside her…

Yanna glanced up at the general. Steady. Strong. _There_ when the world crashed and her heart crumbled. He took it all in stride. "It's my job," he'd said. As if taking in a broken woman and holding her hand through the nightmares was just a normal day for him.

Emerald eyes slid sideways to her. Gosh, he was gorgeous. A flush crept up her cheeks and she looked down at her hands. Someday, she would be strong enough. Good enough. She looked back up at him but he was staring past the piano, focused on the music. It really was beautiful.

Taking a deep breath, she followed along with the verses…and started to sing.

?

Sephiroth let his fingers dance over the keys, listening. Her voice was timid, just barely loud enough to be heard over the piano, but as her lips slid over the melody, the words grew stronger. He could see the tension seeping out of her shoulders, the muscles around her eyes. For a little while, she watched his hands. Then she closed her eyes and sang a little louder. Ebony hair brushed his arm, the coarse ends tickling his elbow. Her own elbows were dry, as were her knuckles and lips. Scars from wayward knives and random accidents decorated her hands between the rough pads of her fingers. Years of living in the sun had tanned her already caramel skin, the heat sinking into the corners of her eyes and mouth. Not crow's feet, not yet, but there had been more miles than years. He could see it in the slight hunch of her shoulders, the curve of her back. Her long legs curled under the bench, her foot tapping gently against his calf in time to the music.

The song ended. Yanna opened her eyes and he looked away.

"It's good to hear you sing again," he said.

"Yeah." She smiled, warm, relaxed. He didn't see any of the earlier stress, couldn't smell the fear. "I feel a lot better."

"Good."

Sighing contentedly, the shaman rested her head on his shoulder.

"Are we okay?" she asked.

"Do you want us to be?"

She nodded.

"Okay." Sephiroth let his cheek touch the top of her head. She smelled like cinnamon and a little jasmine this time.

"I feel so safe with you," she said. He raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"You don't get to go away again. Not like that."

"Yes, ma'am."

The shaman put a feather-light hand on his wrist. Her caramel skin looked so much darker next to his.

"Can I stay here for a while?"

"Of course." He ran his thumb over the back of her hand. "Stay as long as you want."


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"You've never had a smore?!"

Yanna winced at the puppy's cry and shook the spilled drink off her hand.

"Okay, so I'm a heathen. Now what are they already?"

"W-what are—they are these awesome squares of awesomeness, that's what they are!" Zack bounced on the balls of his feet, his spiky hair mimicking his excitement.

"Graham crackers and chocolate bars and you roast the marshmellows just a little bit gold but not too dark 'cause if they're too dark they taste funny and they're messy but that's half the fun and we just have to make some tonight!"

The shaman blinked and looked over at Cissnei.

"I-I lost him after 'awesome,'" she said.

"ANGEAL!"

"Oh dear lady, Angeal," Genesis said, strolling out into the backyard with a drink in his hand. "For the love of all things holy, please muzzle your mutt."

"Shut up, Gen." Angeal stood at the massive grill with a barbeque sauce-stained apron, flipping pieces of meat that could feed a small army. "What, Zack?"

"Yanna's never had a smore!"

On Angeal's other side, Missy choked.

"What?! No! No, screw that. Let's go, people. Road trip!"

Zack war-whooped and in a whirlwind of shouts and crazed laughs, Zack and Missy herded the group into the teacher's car. Sephiroth stayed behind with the other generals, blinking at the house the circus had just passed through.

"What just happened?" he asked.

"Just drink your juice, honey."

"Gen, I thought we talked about calling me things like that."

"We did."

"And?"

"I'm ignoring you."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes and walked over to inspect the grill situation.

"You've been awful quiet, Seph," Angeal said. "You okay?"

"It's been an…interesting few months."

"I'll say."

Genesis scoffed at them both, flicking his hair out of his eyes, and sank into a nearby lawn chair.

"This has been the best year we've had in a long time," he said. Despite the dozen or so arguments on his tongue, Sephiroth didn't say anything. It had been almost a month since his visit to the Caves. In that time, they had all fallen into some semblance of normal. Angeal and Missy were closer than ever, cooperating to become the parents the rest of them had moved to the city to get away from. Zack and Aeris were still nauseating. Cloud had somehow become Genesis' apprentice and now the poor boy was trying to play 'suave' whenever he spoke to his little girlfriend from home. It was amusing and pitiful all at once. Genesis, of course, thought it was fantastic and encouraged the boy to make a fool of himself at every opportunity.

Cissnei remained a spunky, if slightly unnerving presence that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Vincent remained an insufferable fool that constantly tried to talk to him. And Yanna…

Well. It was nice. And that's all he had to say on the subject.

The circus tramped through the house just in time for dinner and soon they had all claimed seats around the fire.

"This meat tastes awesome!" Zack exclaimed.

Genesis gave Cissnei a pointed, dirty look only for Sephiroth to throw a bone at him.

"What?"

"No."

"Oh come on, you can't still be sore about that."

"Yes, I can." Sephiroth caught Yanna's look and sighed. "You're familiar with Gen and Cissnei's habit of disappearing?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It was a week after we finished building my house—"

"That's not fair, Seph," Genesis protested, grinning at the others' laughter. "Just because you're going to die alone doesn't mean the rest of us have to. Sometimes things just happen. What else was I supposed to do?"

"_Anything_ else."

"It just hit us all of a sudden. We had to make a decision."

"My bathroom was not the right decision."

"Oh, like you were using it."

"The shower stall? Really?"

"It echoes."

"You got it on the _ceiling_."

Missy snorted, which just made them all laugh harder until Genesis' phone rang.

"General Rhapsodos. Yes, sir, we're all at Angeal's. Uh-huh."

The redhead got up and walked back into the house to talk to what sounded like Lazard. Yanna just shook her head.

"And on that note, I'll be right back." She handed Sephiroth her plate. "Guard my food."

"It was one time!" Zack protested. The shaman gave him a very-Sephiroth-type look and ruffled the pup's hair when she walked by.

"Hey!"

Sephiroth gave a small smile, green eyes trailing after her. She looked pretty tonight. One of the girls must have picked out her clothes. The blue, pink, and purple kimono-style top wasn't too far outside her comfort zone. The sleeves were a little awkward—he'd heard her swear at them a few times—and the top showed her stomach not unlike Kalani clothes. But what really got him were the jeans. He had never, in the three years he'd known her, seen her wear pants of any kind.

Goddess, she had nice legs.

A quiet snicker to his left caught his ear and he raised an eyebrow at Missy. The teacher just smiled, innocent and completely full of crap. He wondered again what the girls talked about when they were alone. Clearly, the woman thought she knew something he didn't. At least when Cissnei lorded something over them, she had the decency not to look so smug.

"Crap." Genesis walked back out into the yard, his eyes worried, his lips pulled in a smile commonly used to hold back vomiting.

"What's up, Gen?" Angeal asked.

"Uh, heh um…the Platagnets are threatening to pull all of their funding."

"What?" The dark general gaped. "Why?"

Genesis looked at Sephiroth.

"You can't be serious," he said.

"They went straight to Rufus. In person."

Swearing under his breath, Sephiroth grabbed his phone and stormed into the house.

"Of all the stupid, outrageous, _asinine_—"

?

Yanna heard him ranting from the upstairs bathroom. Alarmed, she hurried out just as the General passed her and went into one of the spare bedrooms. She followed, leaning on the doorframe.

"You can't possibly think I'll agree to this," he said into his phone. "Yes, I know they want the army but I am not—I don't _care_ what they said. No, I'm not going to meet with them. They threatened my men, Lazard. I—Put me in a room with them. See if I'm joking."

He hung up, his eyes flashing.

"Everything okay?" Yanna asked. The General laughed the light, airy laugh of someone trying not to break everything in sight.

"No," he said. "No, it's not. There's a family that Shinra has dealt with since the Old Man. At Makofall, they agreed to monetarily support the bases on the Western Continent. Shinra agreed because it didn't have the money, even with the understanding that we would be indebted to them."

"So they're calling in their debt?" She took a couple steps into the room but dared no closer. His anger was palpable, a pressure that sucked the very air from the room. Yet for all of that, the only visible sign was a tightening of the muscles in his legs and back, a hardness in his eyes. She wondered if perhaps this form of anger was more dangerous than the yelling and outrage toward Vincent.

"They've been after me for months," Sephiroth said. "Genesis has tried to dissuade them as best he could but it seems they've ignored both of us and gone straight to President Shinra. They're threatening to pull all of their funding to the Western Bases."

"What?! They can't do that! I—" She swallowed, glanced at the floor. "What do they pay for? Are the bases self-sustaining?"

"No. The surrounding towns are as a matter of course but it was more important for the bases to be technologically viable. All of the resources were funneled into the computer systems and security. I've been trying to pull us out from under their influence but it's only been three years. It's not enough time."

He looked off to a point she couldn't see.

"How long would it take to convert the bases?" he asked.

"What? All of them? I—it depends on the land, the terrain, the people, how well the groundcover's purged any Mako."

"If I got you that information, could you tell me?"

"Even if I could, they wouldn't have crops until next fall. Even with greenhouse plants giving them a jumpstart in the spring. And you would need some kind of protein. I know a lot of soldiers came from rural areas and could help but then you're getting into land permits, food for the cattle, space for the cattle, people to care for both and not take from the towns."

"But it can be done."

"Yes, it can be done if you have the people for it."

"How long?"

Yanna shook her head, bewildered.

"Six months to a year if we started now. If I had my notes, Joanna and I could give you a better estimate but even then it wouldn't be exact."

"Do you still have Joanna's number?"

"Well, yes."

"Call her."

"Seph—"

"Yanna, it's either that or I have to get married."

She whipped out her phone and dialed Joanna. An outgoing message met her ears and she sighed.

"She's out of town for her sister's wedding," she said. "Won't be back until Monday."

"Email her and cc me. Tell her the budget is being reevaluated and I need the numbers as soon as she can get them to me." Sephiroth went back outside and she followed.

"There he is," Genesis crowed. "What's the plan, General?"

"They want to act like we're in the fifteenth century, fine. We turn the bases into self-sustaining fortresses. If we can take food and clothing out of the equation, the rest of the supplies should be manageable enough for Shinra."

"A lot of the bases are on pretty good terms with the towns anyway, right, Gen?" Angeal asked. Genesis nodded.

"It'll take some doing but it's possible. That still leaves where the money comes from in the meantime."

"I have some money saved," Sephiroth said. "We may have to get creative but it should be enough."

"Aw, Seph, we're not gonna let you do that by yourself." Angeal nudged the redhead with his elbow. "You know the areas better than I do. You can find contractors and whatnot?"

"First thing Monday morning."

Yanna felt her chest swell. How casually they spoke of using their own money to take care of the men.

"I'll go see Joanna," she said. "If you can get me the locations, we can get you better numbers."

"You'll have to present it to the board," Cissnei said. "They'll have a lot of complaints and a lot of questions."

"Nothing that I haven't dealt with before." Sephiroth turned to the Turk. "Will Tseng be in his office Monday?"

"Yes, he's not on assignment right now. I'll let him know to expect you."

"Rufus isn't going to like this," Genesis said in a sing-song voice.

"He'll deal with it."

"Okay." The dark general clapped his hands together. "So Monday we'll get everything hammered out. But now, dessert."

"SMORES!"


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"Relax, sweetie. He's not going to bite."

Joanna hugged the binders to her chest as they walked down Soldier's officer hall. The little brunette, eyes wide behind round glasses, scurried in a cute navy skirt-suit next to Yanna.

"I've just never met him before," she said. "Not really."

"He's not as scary as he looks on tv," Yanna said. "He's just very intense and right now, he's worried about taking care of his men. He may be a little short but he's a good man. Just be honest."

"Okay." Joanna nodded, though she was still clearly nervous, and they walked the rest of the way in silence. When they reached Sephiroth's office, Rothridge announced them and Sephiroth waved them in.

"Ms. Kimble," he said. "Shiushan. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice."

"Of course, sir," Joanna said, her voice squeaking. "Yanna said you needed a conversion projection as soon as possible. Something about an emergency budget cut."

"An anticipated budget cut. What do you have?"

"Oh! Sorry, sir." Juggling the binders, Joanna started handing them to him, one by one. "These are the land profiles for the bases and their towns, including crop yield, rainfall, Mako saturation and recovery, contact information, and Yanna's notes. These are the evaluations of what each area needs based on their current status and relationship with outside contractors. These are the cost estimates, projected schedules, and necessary forms. I also have a disc with all of this information and I emailed it to you in zip folders."

Sephiroth tilted his head, his face blank except for the amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Yanna said you were the best choice to take over the rehabilitation program," he said.

The little woman blushed bright red and stammered until Yanna put a hand on her shoulder.

"Joanna had a good point," she said. "If things did degenerate, food and water would be the first targets so the rehab department has been working on hydroponic greenhouses. They're completely enclosed and regulated and can be adapted to any terrain. Sweetie, why don't you start with Fort Meade?"

"R-right."

Sephiroth motioned for them to sit and both he and Yanna listened to Joanna rattle off the numbers in an informed, if skittish, presentation. The General followed along with the charts and figures, asking probing questions. This too was a different side to him. Yanna knew he was analytical, critical to a fault, but never before had she seen it so thoroughly in action. This was why he was the General. He researched every angle, every possible repercussion. And while he couldn't prevent all mistakes, he was certainly doing all he could.

Yanna contributed where she could, mostly from remembering the feel of the land during her three years of touring. Sometimes his questions turned to her and she felt like she was in the interrogation room again. He wasn't mean, per se, but he was blunt, intense. Even with as much time as she spent with him, it was a little off-putting.

Still, by the time they were done, Sephiroth had formed a solid plan, his stance that of weary satisfaction.

"Thank you for coming in, Ms. Kimble, Shiushan," he said, shaking their hands. "I'll be in touch."

?

"You're pacing a hole in the floor."

Yanna wrinkled her nose and sat down hard in the seat across from Missy. This was the airship that was taking them to Cosa Del Sol. It was supposed to be a fun time for them, teasing the boys, laughing about stupid stuff, figuring out what they were going to do with their hair.

Instead, Cissnei was off guarding the president because these Plat-whatever's were known for underhanded schemes—shocker. She supposed she should be grateful she got to see the Turk before they boarded. The three generals had already been arguing with the president and the board of directors for an hour when the airship took off.

That was three hours ago. Still nothing.

"Relax." Missy put her hand over hers. "It'll be fine."

"Oh, I know. They'll figure everything out."

"Uh-huh."

Yanna suddenly found the carpet extremely interesting, so interesting in fact that she jumped about a mile when Angeal opened the cabin door.

"Baby!" Missy exclaimed, jumping up. "Oh babe, you look awful. What happened? Are you done?"

"No." Angeal ran a hand through his hair, his face drawn and tired as he sat down.

"No, it's uh…well, it's not going so well. Rufus is pretty much on our side. He hates the Platagnets but the board…"

"Is it about the money?" Yanna asked.

"Yeah. Sorry to say but yeah. Shinra was really hard up after Makofall. A lot of stuff went wrong. The Platagnets were one of the first families to step in and help keep things afloat. You have no idea how much we're in their debt. I mean, they fund all the bases on the Western Continent. That's why Seph was asking about making the bases self-sufficient. If they leave…"

Angeal rubbed his eyes and took a breath.

"Sorry. I don't mean to lay all this on you girls. Point is, we're trying as hard as we can to make sure the men are taken care of. The board's being difficult but we'll get them. It's the meeting with the Platagnets I'm worried about."

"When will that be?" Missy asked.

"When we get there. They've already scheduled it."

"Angeal." Yanna stared at his boots. "Do you think this can work?"

"I hope so."

Which wasn't an answer. Yanna pursed her lips, nodding.

"Excuse me." Clenching her hands, the shaman slipped out of the cabin and down the hall to the bathroom. She barely registered the people passing her, the whispers of recognition. She couldn't even say how long it took to get to the bathroom. Her ears rang. She couldn't get enough air.

When she got to the bathroom, she went to the last stall and locked the door, sagging against the cold, hard metal. This might not work. The Platagnets were threatening his men with starvation if he didn't marry one of them. Sephiroth would not allow that to happen. He let himself bleed for them. He let Shinra do horrific things to him for the sake of his men, let their enemy take him hostage and torture him.

He was going to get married.

Yanna bowed her head and her body followed until she sat curled on the floor of the handicap stall.

He was getting married.

"Sweetie?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to breathe through the shattered glass.

"Yanna, honey, are you in here?"

Missy. The shaman tried to speak but all that came out was a choked sob. She grimaced and buried her face in her arms as the tears came.

"Oh, sweetie, don't cry. Everything'll be okay. You want me to come in with you?"

She shook her head, even though Missy couldn't see it.

"Okay, honey. Okay. How 'bout I just sit out here and, when you're ready, you can come out?"

She heard the other woman sit on the other side of the stall and a faint voice told her to just suck it up, put on a smile, go out there like a good Kalani woman. But she couldn't do it.

He was getting married.

Yanna curled tighter and cried.

?

After a while, after she'd cried enough to throw up in the sink, Yanna came out of the stall. Missy hurriedly stood up and gave her a hug.

"Oh, sweetheart." Missy cupped her face, wipping away the last of the tears. "You gonna tell him?"

"Tell who what?"

"Honey." The teacher sighed and pulled her over to the community sink. "Here, splash some water on your face. And I mean: are you going to tell Sephiroth how you feel?"

"I don't feel anything. I mean, yeah, we're close but—"

"You just spent forty-five minutes crying in a public restroom. That is nothing _but_ how you feel."

"He's getting—"

"Don't say it. We'll be fine. Now, Angeal had to go back to the meeting but he said they'd meet us at the hotel room." She started fussing with Yanna's hair. "I got the key card and all that so we'll get our bags when we land then we are gonna play with my make-up."

"Celeste." Yanna could feel her eyes start to well again.

"And when the boys come back with the awesome news that everything is okay, you are going to tell him how you feel."

"I can't do that! Missy, what if he laughs at me?" She turned away from both her and the mirror. "I can take a lot. I can't take that."

"He won't laugh at you, honey." Missy put her hands on her shoulders. "Do you love him?"

Yanna chewed on her lip, shifting anxiously from foot to foot.

"I'm afraid."

"That's okay. I'd be afraid of the sex too. Goddess, he could break you in half if he got too rough."

She couldn't help but laugh at that, absurd as it was.

"Promise me," Missy said. "Promise me when he comes back, you'll give it a shot."

"But he's the General of the Armies. I can't—"

"Yes, and everybody and their mother are after him. You wanna risk losing him again?"

Her eyes widened and the teacher nodded, triumphant.

"Okay," Yanna said. "I promise. I-I'll tell him."

"Okay. Now come on. We're about to land."

?

"Absolutely unacceptable!"

"This is an outrage."

"This is our offer."

Sephiroth sat motionless between President Shinra and Genesis. Angeal sat on the other side of the redhead. Across from them sat the nightmare that had plagued him for the better part of ten years. The Platagnet matron, a witch if he had ever seen one, sat between a blond woman with too much hairspray and a blond man with too much makeup.

"I must say I am…disappointed, General Sephiroth," the matron said. She leveled her flinty grey eyes on him. He lifted his chin.

"This was not in our agreement," she said.

"We never _had_ an agreement, Lady Platagnet. You made an offer. I am countering it."

"Rufus, are you really condoning this?"

"I am President of the Shinra Electric Power Company and Commander-in-Chief of the Army," Rufus said tightly. "I would appreciate you address me as such. As for the general, I think I can speak for all three of them when I say how offended we are that this issue is even being discussed."

The three of them smiled indulgently.

"Of course, President Shinra," the younger woman, Sophie, spoke with the same silky voice Genesis often used at bars. "We meant no disrespect. General Sephiroth. Isn't there something we could do that would be mutually beneficial?"

Sephiroth tightened his grip on the arms of his chair. The old hag controlled the money but the real power lay with Sophie. The Silver General resisted the urge to roll his shoulders and rallied to face this new front.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

They had landed Thursday afternoon and the generals had gone straight to the meeting with the Platagnets. It was now almost one on Friday. Yanna still hadn't seen any of them though she assumed they came back to sleep at some point. At least, she hoped they did. She had it on good authority that Sephiroth could stay awake for a ridiculous amount of time but that didn't mean it was good for him.

"Breathe," Missy said, hands playing with Yanna's thick hair. The shaman shot her a look in the mirror but didn't respond.

"I think maybe a curl or a twist or something here," she went on, twisting her hand so that Yanna's hair fell in a curve over her forehead. "Whatcha think?"

"Um…yeah. Yeah, that looks good." Yanna clenched her hands in her lap, pulled at her skirt. "What are you gonna do?"

"Not sure. Think I'm gonna do it up or something. Angeal got me a really pretty set of combs that go with my dress."

"Sparkly?"

"Of course! What do you think I am, a barbarian? Now—ooh, I think I hear the boys."

Yanna shot out of her room just as the three generals trudged into the joint living room of the suite.

"It's approved," Sephiroth said, his face blank. "We start the conversion after the new year."

Missy let out a 'whoo' and Yanna ran forward to give him a hug. He endured it for a second then pushed her away.

"I'm going to change and then I have to eat," he said.

"Jeans sound great right now," Angeal said. "We'll be right back, girls. Did you find somewhere for lunch?"

"Yeah, we narrowed it down to three places," Missy said. Yanna held it together until the boys went to their respective rooms then she started shaking. Missy wrapped her in a strong hug.

"It's okay," she whispered. "It's okay."

"He's not getting married." Yanna squeezed her, buried her teary eyes into her shoulder. "He's not getting married!"

Missy giggled and pulled away, fussing over her hair.

"I'm so happy for you, sweetie. Now remember, you promised."

"Yeah." The shaman wiped her eyes and tried to collect herself. "Yeah. I just have to think of what to say."

"Don't think too long."

"What's wrong?" Sephiroth asked, coming out of his room in jeans and a black dress shirt.

"Nothing," Yanna said, smiling. "Just relieved. I'd hate to have done all that work for nothing. So food?"

?

They chose a bar and grill on the beach and the outdoor seating smelled like old salt. Yanna didn't care. Sitting next to Sephiroth, munching on fried and steamed seafood, they could have been out in Wutai again and she would still be grinning.

"So is everything else okay?" she asked.

"No," Sephiroth said. "But I'll deal with that later."

She got the hint and turned back to listen to Genesis tell one of his outrageous stories. Cissnei wouldn't be able to join them until the ball but Missy and Yanna obliged him with gasps and cheers. Angeal teased him here and there and Sephiroth just sat back, body still humming with the tension of the last week.

They chatted for a long time then, after everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Genesis got up to leave.

"I've got some errands to run," he said. "I'll be back in a few hours."

"Aw, you don't wanna be the fifth wheel anymore?" Missy asked.

"No, darling, even to you." A wink and a wave, and he was gone.

"I guess we have to entertain ourselves," Angeal said, turning to his lady. "You wanna go to that art show I was telling you about? You guys can come too, if you want."

"No," the teacher pouted. "I've had to share you all week. I want you to myself for a while."

"It's okay," Yanna said. "You two go ahead. Have a good time."

She waved as they left then sighed and took a drink of water.

"I'm sorry you're stuck with me," Sephiroth said.

"Yeah, I guess I'll just have to suffer through it." She smiled, tucking some hair behind her ear. "I missed you."

He glanced away.

"I know I haven't been the easiest person to be around lately," he said. "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

"Sure." Grabbing her purse, the shaman followed him out onto sidewalk. On their left, storefronts and restaurants lined the street, dotted here and there with stands of ice-cream and other snacks. On their right stretched the beach itself. Tourists milled around in everything from sundresses and swimsuits to tank tops with really bad tanlines and shoes that didn't match. Sephiroth set the pace, lazy, almost strolling. People whispered and pointed, some squealed, but they didn't rush him like she thought they would. Maybe his expression? It didn't matter. Sighing again, Yanna put her hand in the crook of his elbow and turned her face to the wind.

"You're on the wrong side," he said.

"Wha—no, I'm not. I'm on your left."

"But we're not on base. I need that arm to fight. Switch sides."

"I—"

Sephiroth took her hand, pulled her to his right, and she hooked onto his other arm.

"I've given up trying to understand you guys," she sighed.

"Good. Maybe you won't ask as many questions."

"Hey!" She poked his ribs and he grinned.

"You haven't stopped smiling since we left the hotel," he said.

"I haven't?" She touched her cheek and, sure enough, she was still grinning from ear to ear.

"That happy the deal fell through?" he asked.

"Yeah, aren't you?"

"You have no idea." A shadow crossed his face for a brief second. "Vile people."

"So are they gone or did they just back off?"

"They're…regrouping. Legally, they can't come after me for a while and Genesis and Angeal are bound to me in contracts so they can't go after them either. But they're not gone, no. And they'll still come to the Ball."

"Oh." She chewed on her lip. The thought of that woman there all dressed up, dripping with jewels and the attentions of men, made her nauseous. Because, of course, any woman with that kind of power had people falling all over themselves to cater to her every whim. She tightened her grip on his arm.

"I'll tell you a secret," he said, glancing down at her. "Sophie Platagnet is not the one who wanted me."

"What? But—"

"She wants power. She and her mother both want the power and prestige of owning Shinra's Army. They want me at their beck and call as some glorified mercenary to fight their battles. But if it were someone else, they would just as easily go after them."

"So who wanted you? You are talking personally, right?"

"Yes. It's her older brother, Jerran."

She eyed him, frowning.

"What?"

"Six years ago, Jerran Platagnet wrongly assumed that I was in a homosexual relationship with Genesis. Because of that, he has done his best to try and _look_ like Genesis. The hair, the earring, the clothes, the speech. He's tried everything."

"Wait, so the _brother_ wants to get you in bed and the mother and sister just want what you've got? Was he just using them to get to you or was that just a perk?"

"Who knows? That family is so poisonous and so ambitious, nothing surprises me anymore."

"That's awful."

"That's life."

Frowning deeper, Yanna hugged his arm, resting her head on his shoulder. He chuckled.

"I'm not going anywhere, Shiushan."

"Promise?"

"I promise." He lowered his voice, leaned close enough his cheek almost touched her hair. "You know I've always been loyal to you."

A thrill went down her spine and she looked up to see tired emerald eyes smiling down at her. She smiled back then turned into his arm. He smelled like musk and darkness and the leather that never quite left his skin.

"If you're done sniffing me, there's something I want to show you."

She punched him lightly in the side and walked with him out onto the beach. Sand gradually gave way to pebbles and rocks. Soon the land sloped up into crags peppered with lichen and dried salt. Sephiroth helped her climb up the rocks and led her to the edge. The sea roiled ten, fifteen feet below them, smashing and frothing against the jagged earth.

"Cool," she said, leaning over. Sephiroth stepped up behind her.

"Wait for it."

For a few minutes, nothing happened. Then something in the air shifted. Her skin tingled and as she peered into the water, she could almost taste the deeper currents. Blacks and blues crashed into angry whites and greys until she couldn't even see the rocks.

Suddenly, a bigger wave rolled in, shooting sea water thirty feet into the air. Yanna screamed, falling back, and the general just laughed.

"You're all right," he said, steadying her. "The tide's coming in."

The shaman glanced up at him then, one hand clutching his, she leaned back over the rocks. Water roared in her ears, spraying her face, drenching her clothes. At first it was every two or three waves but the rhythm increased until every wave crashed with the force of a behemoth, spraying thirty, forty feet into the air. The sheer power made her rock on the balls of her feet, giggling with every crest.

"This is awesome!" she yelled, her voice lost in the water. "It's like a storm!"

Sephiroth smiled, his grip solid and unyielding. Smiling back, Yanna stretched out her other hand, felt the tremors in her bones. She wasn't sure how long she stood there but, eventually, the general pulled her back from the edge.

"That was amazing!" she cried. Her hair and dress clung to her as she followed him towards the shore. "I thought the ocean was only that strong in tidal waves."

"No, there are other places further inland. Let me go first."

"Okay."

Sephiroth climbed down to the sand then lifted her off the rocks as if her drenched body weighed nothing. His arms were chilled and wet, his clothes damp, and his bangs stuck to his cheeks. She smiled, gently pulling them away.

"Thanks for showing me," she said.

"I thought you'd enjoy it."

"Oh, I did." Biting her lip, Yanna wiped her hair out of her face. "Um…"

He tilted his head.

"What is it, Shiushan?"

She shook her head, forcing a smile.

"Nothing."

"You're a bad liar too."

This time, her smile was a little more real as she started walking back towards the street.

"You've had a long week," she said. "It can wait."

"Yanna—"

"So who else will be at the ball?"

?

The rest of the afternoon passed fairly quickly, despite how lazy it was. Too soon, it was time to get ready for the ball. Sephiroth could hear the girls laughing and primping in Yanna's room while the generals got dressed separately. Apparently, helping each other get 'pretty' was a girl thing.

"Seph?" Angeal knocked on his door. "Rufus is freaking out that we won't be there for the presentation."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes and shrugged on his black coat, its bottom and cuffs embroidered in silver like his belt. For such a formal occasion, he had to wear a shirt but, true to form, he left the first few buttons undone.

"Coming," he called, sliding his knife into one of his knee-high boots. They weren't as high as those for his uniform but at least they were somewhat comfortable.

When he came out, Genesis stood messing with his cuffs in a white coat with blood red accents.

"Hey, gorgeous," the redhead said.

"See, it's those comments that make people think we're gay."

"And?"

Behind them, Angeal knocked on Yanna's door.

"Girls, we gotta head down now," he called.

"Okay," they answered before collapsing in laughter.

"They sound like chocobos," Sephiroth said.

"I heard that!" Missy yelled.

"See you guys later." Angeal rapped on the door one more time and the men headed down to the ball room. Dignitaries and their guests filled the foyer, silks and jewels covering every spare inch of skin on both males and females. The three generals hung back, as policy dictated, and the master of ceremonies introduced the more important contributers. Other, less known guests filtered into the ballroom itself during the announcements, each name meeting with more and more applause.

"I hate this part," Sephiroth muttered without moving his lips. Angeal chuckled, clapped him on the shoulder.

"Look at it this way," he said. "At least we have dates this time."

Genesis cast a meaningful look on his superior.

"Time to go, darlings."

The master of ceremonies announced Angeal first, then Genesis, and finally Sephiroth. The Silver General walked through the gilt doors to double staircases leading to both sides of the ballroom. Faceless guests applauded around the dance floor as he descended. Around them, garlands of every kind of pine hung from the chandeliers twined with lights and glitter. A massive Christmas tree stood in the back decorated with every king of glass ball, tacky angel, and tinsel known to man. He wondered idly how much noise it would make if it fell over.

"General Sephiroth, congratulations on your victory in Wutai." An old man, an investor from back before Makofall, shook his hand. Others followed, an endless descent of unwelcome hands and phony sentiments. Sephiroth nodded as was expected of him and made his way through the crowd. It was all routine by now. They glad-handed people that just wanted to be seen, dance a little, then when Rufus came in and made his welcome speech, they were free to find their tables. Then came the other speeches from various important people, touting about how amazing they were and how much they contributed to their charity of choice. Then more dancing and awkward small-talk then more speeches and perhaps, if Rufus was feeling particularly pretentious, there would be a promotional video.

"Seph." Genesis appeared at his elbow and motioned to the staircases. Cissnei appeared first, her hair straight, wearing a black, one-shoulder gown with silver beading along the neck. Sephiroth couldn't tell from here but he knew she had some kind of weapon under her dress. Genesis would probably brag about finding it later.

Missy followed wearing a teal-blue halter neck gown with her thick curly hair piled high on her head. No one was particularly surprised that Angeal brought a teacher, maternal hen that he was. And she looked excited, which was cute.

Yanna was last. With one hand on the railing, the caramel-skinned woman gingerly descended in a cowl-neck, sleeveless gown of pale gold silk. Ebony hair fell in smooth curls down her shoulders, the one silver lock catching the light. She walked slowly, with a hesitation in her step that had nothing to do with her new shoes. Even so, she held her head high, her shoulders back, as she traced one hand down the banister. Dark eyes swept the crowd and he could feel her gaze like a pass of lightning.

Taking a deep breath, Sephiroth closed his eyes.

"Damn."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"And we're on the left again."

"I have to shake hands."

"You drive me crazy." Yanna's grip on his arm tightened as they made their way closer to their table. "I really hate these shoes."

"You look beautiful." It fell out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"Oh." She glanced up at him, her eyes rimmed with gold. "Thanks. You look pretty good too. Is this your…dress uniform?"

"One of many. A luxury of my position is having to attend hundreds of these."

"They like showing you off."

"Apparently."

"I'm okay with this."

"Fangirl." He glanced over to see a thin gold chain disappearing under her neckline. "Are you still wearing it?"

"Always." She smirked up at him, sending a thrill down his spine.

"Dance with me," he said.

"Will you drop me?"

"Have I ever?" Sephiroth drew her onto the dance floor and took her in his arms. "I apologize in advance for the tedium."

"Oh come on, it isn't that bad. I mean, the people aren't all horrid, snobby gold-diggers, are they? And look how pretty! Why are there pine trees all over the place again?"

"Something about immortality and rejuvenation." He glanced around at the lights and garlands, reds, purples, golds, greens. "They started decorating days ago."

"I can imagine." Yanna missed a step, clutching his arm. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Not the first time I've been stepped on."

"You know, if you're going to be fussy all night, I'll just go hang out with Missy and Genesis and get drunk."

"Fine," he said, rolling his eyes. "What would you like to talk about?"

"Well, how are you?"

"You really want to ask that now?"

"That bad still?"

"Well." He led her in a turn and smiled when she giggled into his shoulder. "It's getting better."

She smiled and slid her hand further up his arm. He could almost swear that she squeezed his shoulder, tracing the outline of the muscle. A smirk pulled at his lips. Subtle, she was not, but he didn't say anything. He could feel the muscles in her back slide as she moved, her body heat brushing his skin even through his clothes. It made his mouth water.

Swallowing hard, Sephiroth led her in another turn to try and break the heat but when she came back, he caught her scent tenfold. Amber, jasmine, sugar, and the ever-present cinnamon. An oil, perhaps, or soap. She always smelled like this but something about it now made him wonder if her skin would taste just as good.

Sephiroth bit his tongue hard and nearly sighed in relief when Rufus got up on stage.

"Thank you and welcome to Shinra's 52nd Annual Winter Ball," the president said, spreading his hands. "I want to personally thank all of our contributors, as do the charities we've partnered with. Your kindness, as always, has made this world a better place."

"Sounds like a greeting card," Yanna muttered. Sephiroth swallowed again.

"It usually does."

The blond aristocrat continued for a few more minutes before ushering them to their tables. Angeal, Missy, Genesis, and Cissnei met them at theirs, and it was like they were at a restaurant or Angeal's house. As servers in white coats brought out the various courses, the six of them lapsed into a friendly competition of trying to out-do each other's stories. Cissnei nearly won it with her Wedding Toast story but Angeal countered with The Pineapple Incident. Missy, surprisingly, swept them all with her story about her grandparents' hot tub, her group of college friends, and a jar of strawberry topping.

"Wow," Yanna said. "Just…holy crap, _wow_."

"That was—really?" Angeal looked like he couldn't quite believe his girlfriend. Cissnei stared as if she was trying to corroborate the tale with her Turk knowledge and Genesis himself stood and bowed. Sephiroth just shook his head.

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard," he said. "And I grew up with these idiots."

"Hey!"

"I resemble that remark!"

Around them, the lights dimmed so only the string lights and the candles on the tables glowed.

"Seph?" Yanna shifted, drawing closer to his side.

"Good grief, again?" Angeal exclaimed.

"You knew it was coming," Genesis said, taking a healthy sip of his wine.

"A PR stunt," Sephiroth said. On the stage, a large screen lowered between them and the orchestra. "Try not to read too much into it."

The promotional video began to play, full of the glory of Shinra and the progress since Makofall. Some of it was true. Some was exaggerated. Some was so blatantly wrong, the three generals had to snicker.

"At least the music's good," Yanna whispered.

"You would comment on that."

She stuck her tongue out at him and leaned back, her silk-covered thigh pressed against his. He tried to ignore it, tried to ignore the way the candlelight danced over her skin, making it look almost gold. But the faint glimmer of her necklace caught his eye and, from this angle, he could just barely trace the chain running down her collarbone to slip between the modest curve of her breasts.

Yanna glanced up at him, thick lashes catching on the soft wave of hair that fell over her face.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine." He rolled his shoulders. "You look really nice."

She smiled that easy, calm smile.

"Thanks."

The lights came back on and they clapped appropriately as the first of many other speakers took the stage. Thankfully, they still got to eat during the speeches so Sephiroth was able to tune out most of it. If nothing else, the food here was superb.

"Will you dance with me again?" Yanna asked as she practically licked the last plate clean of chocolate.

"They've opened up the floor," Sephiroth said.

She was up before he could finish the sentence and he let her drag him to the floor. Behind them, the others laughed and catcalled, but they followed soon enough, enjoying the time to be 'couples.'

"So you enjoy this kind of dancing?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yes." She settled in his arms with more comfort than he expected. "It's different but it makes me feel pretty. Like a princess."

"I'm glad you like it." They fell into an easy silence despite his urge to take off his gloves and feel her skin under his fingers. Too soon, the dance ended.

"I have to be social now," he said, stepping back. "Will you be all right?"

"Help me off the floor so I don't slip and I'll be good." She gripped his arm with strength that always surprised him and walked with him back to the safety of mauve carpet. "Will you come back?"

"I promise." He touched under her chin and, with a slight smirk, plunged back into the fray.

?

"Care for a dance, darling?" Genesis came up to place a chaste kiss on Yanna's cheek.

"Maybe later," she said. "I'm looking at all the dresses."

"Ah yes, and the jewelry and accoutrements that cost entire estates." He smiled at her, cheeky as always, but something behind her caught his attention.

"Excuse me, darling. Duty calls."

"Well, don't let me keep you. Go be awesome."

"Always."

She watched him leave then let her eyes wander over the glittering jewels and glowing fabrics of both men and women. It reminded her of Sephiroth's dream, only she didn't think zombies would come after them this time. Hopefully.

"Aren't they beautiful?" An older woman, beautiful yet too perfect in her appearance, sidled up next to her.

"I'm sorry?" Yanna asked.

The woman motioned to the floor where Sephiroth danced with a petite blonde woman in a white, strapless gown and elbow-length gloves. Yanna's stomach twinged and she took a sip of her drink. It wasn't a big deal. He had to be nice to everyone. Not a problem.

"They're getting married, you know," the woman said. Yanna nearly choked.

"What?" she asked. "I heard the General was still single."

"Oh, I don't doubt it. So many rumors and stories floating around. I'd hate to be a single woman with all these vultures."

"It's not so bad."

"No?" The woman eyed her. "No, I suppose not for someone like you."

"Excuse me?"

"No offense, dear," she said, patting her hand. "Of course not. You're just a bit more…well-traveled than my Sophie."

Yanna suddenly felt cold. The woman he was dancing with…

"You're Sophie's mother."

"Dorothea Platagnet, Duchess of Ostery," she said with the slightest nod of her head. "My daughter is heir to a fortune and a brilliant businesswoman in her own right. So sorry, dear. What was your name again?"

"Yanna. I'm a healer."

"Ah yes. From the mountains, yes? That's so fascinating. You'll come to the wedding, won't you? I know you and the General are close and I'm sure you'll want to see him off before he moves to the Western Continent."

"He isn't moving."

Dorothea cast a pitying glance.

"Let me be frank, dear. People like you just…don't last. I know you may think you're indispensable but the General will be my son-in-law before the year is out. You need to look at other options, for your own good. I saw you're quite fond of General Rhapsodos?"

Yanna blinked down at her drink.

"Excuse me," she whispered. "I need some air."

?

Three more dances passed before Sephiroth could escape. Though not claustrophobic, per se, the general could only take so much forced contact. If one more person bumped into him or touched his back to get his attention, he was going to light them all on fire.

"General Sephiroth—"

"Excuse me."

No, he had no idea who that was and no, he didn't care. Ducking out of the ballroom, Sephiroth took shelter in the men's room and tried to get his nerves to settle. Gaia, he hated these things.

Still, he couldn't stay in here forever. Sighing, the general took off his gloves and splashed his face with cold water. Just a couple more hours and he could disappear. Maybe he would go for a midnight swim. The sea would probably feel good after the humidty of the ballroom.

"General Sephiroth."

The absolute last person he wanted to see slipped into the room behind him, reeking of cologne and flowered soap.

"We have nothing further to discuss, Jerran." Sephiroth forced the nerves down, drawing his rank around him like a cloak.

"Look, I know things went badly this morning but you have to understand, Mother is so Old World and she's dragged poor Sophie with her." Jerran shook his head, his hair swishing against his forehead. "Please reconsider."

The blond placed a slender hand on Sephiroth's wrist.

"The idea to use your men as leverage was Sophie's," he said. "It was awful and horrible and I wish I hadn't gone along with it but the deal still stands."

"Don't touch me." Sephiroth hadn't had to verbalize that warning in years. People just didn't touch him unless they were reckless or inebriated. He was too Far Above, too Beyond. Yet this fool _dared_ to—The general clenched his fist as Jerran ran his hand up his arm. Really? He was going to try this here?

"I know my sister is harsh," he said, dark eyes covered in blue contacts lingering too long below his waist. "It's not her fault. Being stuck with my mother for that long would warp anyone. But it's not a completely bad arrangement. Think of it. Everyone knows you would do anything for your men. We've all heard stories of how you go without so your troops don't have to. Wouldn't it be nice to not have to make that choice?"

His hand drifted dangerously close to Sephiroth's neck. Every muscle in his body coiled, ready to strike, ready to break this puling little—

"And nothing says you have to stay with Sophie all the time. There are plenty of other things you could do." The younger man glanced up at him, his lips pulling into a smile.

"_No_."

Jerran pouted, started toying with the collar of his shirt.

"Well, if you insist," he sighed. "I suppose you could keep your little tribeswoman on the side."

Sephiroth snatched his wrist with such force Jerran yelped, his eyes wide.

"One more asinine comment and you will not live to regret it."

He stormed out, passed the ballroom, and flung open the doors to the gardens. Cool, damp air slapped his face as he stalked into the circles and paths of multi-colored blooms. The muscles between his shoulders ached from being so tense for so long. He clenched his fists. Stupid, arrogant piece of—

A sharp sob brought him up short, yanking the red from his vision. Blinking, Sephiroth followed the haggard breaths around the corner to see Yanna huddled on the statue of an angel.

"Shiushan."

She gasped and jumped to her feet.

"General. Wh-what's wrong? Is everything okay?"

He stepped closer.

"Yanna." His stomach dropped at the sight of her red eyes. "What happened?"

"Nothing, nothing. What's wrong? You look angry."

"Yanna." He caught her arms but she kept her head bowed, her thick hair shielding her face. Salt stung the air and Jerran suddenly seemed very far away.

"Shiushan, what happened?"

The woman turned away then sighed and it seemed like all the fight went out of her.

"She called me a whore."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

His vision bled and it was only her faint whimper that kept him from gripping her arms too hard.

"Who?" he demanded.

"The mother. I—she didn't say it in those words but…she—she said you're getting married. I don't understand. You said they couldn't come after you anymore."

"They can't."

"Then why would she say that? What else happened today?"

"A lot."

"What?"

"It's not your concern."

"It is if Joanna has to deal with it." Dark eyes flashed, a spark through the tears. "Don't talk to me like I'm stupid."

A shiver ran down his spine and he slowly let her go.

"I wasn't—I'm sorry. I didn't intend to." He glanced at somewhere over her head. "We don't own the land. We pay rent. Land rights, water rights, air rights. They own it all. And they've raised the payments to ridiculous amounts."

"You said they were going to leave you alone. They can't come after you."

He scoffed and looked towards the house.

"They're waiting for me to crawl back to them." He shook his head. "I bought us time. Until I can think of something else."

"So you are getting married. Excuse me." The shaman made to turn away but he caught her arm again.

"Let go," she said. "I have work to do."

"No, you don't. Shiushan, look at me."

She kept her eyes lowered.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked softly. His chest tightened and he slipped his finger under her chin.

"Look at me." He waited, and would wait as long as it took for her to raise her eyes. At last, she met his gaze even as she clenched her skirt in her fists.

"I am not marrying Sophie Platagnet," he said firmly.

"But if they're in danger—"

"That viper's nest would control everything and I would have to watch them throw troops into pointless, self-serving wars." He let his voice drop. "I will not condemn my men to die."

The shaman licked her lips and lowered her eyes to somewhere around his throat.

"I can't compete with her."

He blinked.

"Compete." So that's what this was about. "What have I ever done to make you think you were competing with her?"

"I…"

The sound of a woman singing reached their ears and he watched as her face tightened with pain. Then, just as quickly, her eyes hardened. When she looked up at him, he was suddenly back in Wutai, back at the festival, back where she had to grit her teeth and work and _fight_.

"You trust me," she said.

"Of course."

Taking a breath, Yanna cupped his face in her hands and pressed her mouth to his. He inhaled sharply. This—what? She gently sucked on his lip. He shivered, tasting honey, and his arms wrapped around her of their own accord.

Then she was gone, stepping out of reach with a flush on her skin that made him ache.

"You have to take care of your boys," she said, a little breathless. "I know that. But if there's room for me…think about it?"

"I—"

"I'll see you back at the room. Good night, General."

?

It was pushing three in the morning when the five of them staggered back to the suite. Sephiroth wanted nothing more than to just collapse in his bed and sleep for four or five days but he could still smell all the people on his clothes. Curling his lip, he threw his clothes on a chair and got into the shower. The hot water stung at first but he forced himself to breathe, to let himself relax. Too late, he realized he could still taste Yanna on his lips.

He turned his face into the water and blanked his mind until he was back in his room. But here, away from the steam and scent of soap, he could smell cinnamon as if she were in the same room. He rolled over onto his stomach, willing his body not to respond. It had been a ridiculously stressful week, even with his position of dealing with apocalyptic events every other day. He was just overreacting. There would be plenty of time to think about it later, after he got some sleep.

Setting his jaw, the general deliberately closed his eyes only to have images of her in that gown dance on his eyelids. His blood hummed with remembered touches, whispers of heat and silk. He had been kissed before but it was always unwanted attention from the odd teenager or, worse, the girl's mother. There was no emotion, no passion beyond the burning need to get away and gargle something corrosive.

Tonight had been different.

Growling, he rolled onto his back and glared up at the ceiling. Ten feet separated them, maybe less if she slept on this side of the bed. It would be so easy to just go in there and lose himself. He wanted to kiss her again, wanted it so badly it unnerved him. Fine, terrified him. He wanted to taste her, drown in her scent, earn those little noises he'd never heard. He'd have to be careful, of course, to avoid any chance of pregnancy but—

His heart stopped. Goddess. His lungs started to collapse under the thought and he curled in on himself. That was it then.

He had to say 'no.'

?

"Morning, Seph," Genesis yawned as he padded into the kitchen. Sephiroth ignored him in favor of his scalding coffee.

"'And good morning to you too, Genesis.'" The redhead poured himself some coffee and started doctoring it to his liking. "'How was your night last night?' Oh, fine, thanks for asking. How was yours? 'Great, actually. One of the best. Got to dance with a gorgeous woman most of the night and maybe even got lucky.'"

"Who got lucky?" Yanna came out of her room in a simple, yellow cotton dress and got a mug down for herself. "You didn't break anything, did you?"

Sephiroth gripped the mug to stop his hands from shaking.

"No, darling, not yet. There's plenty of time for that when you all go to the beach or something."

"You're not coming?"

"Not yet."

"Gen!" She smacked him then sat down at the table. "Good morning, General."

"Morning." He took a long drink of the coffee, focusing on the painful sting of it burning his throat.

"Did you sleep well?"

He shrugged, saved from answering when Angeal and Missy came out of their room.

"Awesome!" Angeal said. "I can start breakfast. Wait, where's Ciss?"

"She'll be out in a minute. I vote crepes."

"You're getting waffles and you'll be thankful for them."

"Yes, Dad."

Pushing his chair back, Sephiroth set his mug in the sink and grabbed his wallet.

"I'll be back later."

"Huh?" Missy frowned. "You want us to wait breakfast for you?"

"No. I'll find something else."

"Seph—"

The protests died with the click of the door.

?

"What was that about?" Missy asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Is he always a jerk in the morning?"

"Yes, but that's not the point." Angeal glanced at the red general but he shook his head.

"I think it might be my fault," Yanna said quietly.

"What's your fault?" Cissnei plopped into Genesis' lap. "What happened?"

Yanna looked over at Missy, her eyes starting to sting.

"Oh." The teacher came to sit down next to her. "So you—"

"Yeah. Guess I have my answer."

"It's not an answer until he opens his mouth and says something," Angeal said firmly. "He's an ass. We know this. Now come help me with breakfast."

"I can help," Genesis said.

"You can't even say that with a straight face."

"No, I can't." The redhead grinned. "Oh, did you guys hear about what happened to the O'Rourke boy?"

?

Guilt was an interesting emotion. Most feelings were just that, something a person felt, emotions illiciting physical responses. Some were even highly motivating. Anger. Fear.

But guilt was a creature all its own. In his almost thirty years of existence, nothing was nearly so effective at crushing a man's soul. Responsibility over letting his men die. Accountability over killing men in the line of duty. And this. He never had a word for their relationship, never thought it mattered. They just _were_.

Except it hadn't been that simple. This whole mess had been shot to hell before they even started and it wasn't just because the World-Breaker and his shaman had fallen through the sky. No, Hojo had destroyed everything long before that.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he answered it without really thinking.

"Sephiroth."

"Hey, sweetheart!"

"Marilyn." The general missed a step. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, dear. Can't complain. I'm sorry I haven't called sooner. We have Heather and the boys this weekend."

"Are you having a good time?"

"Oh, of course. The boys are asking about you, want to see you again. Apparently, some kids at school don't believe that they actually know you. Anyway, enough about me. How are you, sweetheart?"

"Fine."

"Good, good. Having fun at the ball? We couldn't make it this year but I'm sure you figured that out."

"Yes."

Marilyn tutted on the other end of the phone.

"Something happened. What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You may be able to use that tone on your troops, young man, but remember who taught you that trick."

Sephiroth couldn't help but grin as he sat down on a low concrete wall out of the way of pedestrians.

"I'm fine, Marilyn, really."

"Are you sure?"

Guilt twisted his stomach again, the nausea sending the world into a tilt. He closed his eyes.

"I've been better," he said quietly.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Tell me anyway."

Sighing, he rubbed his eyes.

"I…think I'm doing the right thing but…I'm going to hurt someone."

"Do you want to hurt them?"

The thought of Yanna crying made him sick.

"No."

"And you're sure it's best for them?"

"Yes. I…" He swallowed. "It's better than the alternative."

Marilyn was quiet for a moment.

"Is it about your lady friend?"

He inhaled sharply and she must have heard it because she hummed.

"I thought so," she said. "Tell me about her."

"James met her."

"I want you to tell me."

"She…she's very passionate about…helping people. She's studying to get her doctorate in osteopathy and I think she's almost finished. She comes over sometimes for dinner. Sometimes I'll cook but usually she wants to. Says I don't know what good food is."

"My kind of lady."

"Yes, you'd like her. And she's great with…children…" He choked, glanced towards the sea.

"Sephiroth?"

He tried to swallow around the lump in his throat.

"I can't do this," he said, as much to her as to himself. "It won't work."

"Sounds like you're scared. But that's okay. Love is scary. I remember the first time I realized I loved James. Had a temper tantrum in the shower."

"What?"

"Yeah, terribly mature, I know, but darn it. I had a career I was trying and I didn't have time for this and I didn't want to get tied down and then I caught myself imagining what it would be like to wake up next to him and it didn't scare me. I think that scared me more than anything, if that makes sense."

"A little." Sephiroth looked out at the sea and the growing number of tourists claiming different spots with garish umbrellas.

"James told me about your mother."

"You're my mother." The words fell out before he could stop them.

"Oh sweetheart." There were tears in her voice but he didn't regret those. "Sephiroth, we love you and we've tried to do the best we can by you…"

"You have. I'm grateful."

"Hush, and let me finish. We've tried to do our best but I know they took a lot more from you than we could ever fix. Don't let them take this."

"This is my decision."

"Is it?"

Sighing, the general walked a little ways onto the beach, around one of the restaurants, and leaned back against the wall. Here, hidden in shadow, he could almost believe he was alone.

"I could be sterile." The admission burned like acid and he waited for the inevitable string of pity and concern. Marilyn was quiet for a moment then she surprised him again, this time with just a calm question.

"Do you know for sure?" she asked.

"No. But with all they did to me, I'd say it's an accurate assumption."

"Have you talked to her about this?"

"No." He looked up at the too-blue sky, cringing at the brightness. "She wants a family."

"She can't have that with you? Sweetheart, there are a lot of options if you can't have kids."

"I can't put her through that."

"That's not up to you, dear."

"Maybe not. But it's something I can control."

"Is that what this is about? Losing control?"

"Marilyn."

"Sephiroth. If this is the only reason you're hesitating, then that's all the more reason to talk to her."

"I can't."

"Do you love her?"

His chest buckled, all the air driven out of him with that one question. He folded his arm around himself. It was too much. He wasn't equipped to handle any of this. He was a soldier. A puppet. A broken toy Shinra couldn't afford to throw away. Toys weren't real.

"Sephiroth?"

His mind went back to how she felt up against him, how she'd leaned into him at the piano, how her eyes lit up for the little things he did. He couldn't breathe. Crushed glass lined his throat.

"Answer me, sweetheart."

"Yes." It was all he could do to stay upright. One move, one misstep and the world would drop out from under him. Yes, the man covered in blood loved a queen.

"It doesn't make a difference," he said, his voice hoarse.

"I think it makes all the difference. Go talk to her. I know it sounds cheesy and not enough but this isn't just about you."

"I'm not that brave."

"If you go talk to her, you'll be the bravest man in the world. Call me and tell me what she says. Love you, sweetheart."

The line went dead and he stared at the black screen for a long, long time.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"…_someone else's game  
Too late for second-guessing  
Too late to go back to sleep  
It's time to trust my instincts  
Close my eyes and leap…"_

Sephiroth found them playing in a nearby theater. Genesis looked to be explaining the production on stage with much waving of his hands while Angeal stood watching from the floor. Missy and Cissnei twirled around, dancing with no rhythm at all and laughing at whatever Genesis was saying. And Yanna sang.

_"It's time to try defying gravity  
I think I'll try defying gravity  
And you won't bring me down…"  
_

He crept upstairs to the balcony. It was empty, and would be for several hours yet before the cast came in to warm up. Somewhere, he dimly remembered Genesis getting tickets for the six of them. Yanna had been the most excited but the other two girls had heard enough of the music from her that they were looking forward to it. His chest tightened painfully. As of last month, he had never seen "Wizard of Oz," never read the book, never heard the story, and only knew the plot of "Wicked" because of the posts on the Study Group.

Yanna showed him all of that.

_"I'm through accepting limits  
'Cause someone says they're so  
Some things I cannot change  
But till I try, I'll never know…"_

Genesis, no doubt, prayed for some climactic event so the two of them could dramatically confess their love to the heavens. Angeal too. Both generals were hopelessly romantic and if they caught a whiff of how he really felt, they would push him to make a huge, ultimately humiliating gesture.

But that wasn't him. Not for this. He could put on a show as well as anyone but…

_"Too long I've been afraid of  
Losing love I guess I've lost  
Well, if that's love,  
It comes at much too high a cost…"  
_

Goddess, she had an amazing voice. Sighing, the general rubbed his eyes and sat down in one of the plush chairs. To be perfectly honest, he wished for a crisis too. A shooting. A kidnapping. Ransom, terrorism, it didn't matter. Those events had a process, an _end_.

This. This was the edge of a cliff into a free-falling, black maw of _nothing_. He leaned forward on his knees, bringing his fists up to his eyes. It wasn't supposed to hurt like this. To hear Genesis talk, he was supposed to feel damn near euphoric. But he didn't. He couldn't breathe. His head spun. His legs felt like they would give out any minute and if his heart pounded any louder, they would hear it on stage.

_"I'd sooner buy  
Defying gravity  
Kiss me goodbye  
I'm defying gravity  
And you won't bring me down…"_

His hands started to shake and he clenched his fists hard enough to draw blood. The end of the world, he could handle. Emergencies were normal. But just one question from Marilyn threatened to completely undo him. This was supposed to be easy, wasn't it?

He gasped, squeezing his eyes shut. Not a sob. He didn't cry.

_"So if you care to find me  
Look to the western sky!  
As someone told me lately:  
'Everyone deserves the chance to fly!'"_

Simple. Just so simple to walk down there, say 'yes,' and kiss her like he wanted to since she jumped into live fire for his men. So simple. Heat crawled up his spine, his arms, yet he felt cold and nauseous.

_"And if I'm flying solo,_

_At least I'm flying free._

_To those who'd ground me, _

_Take a message back from me…"_

He looked down at the stage as her voice swelled into the last verse. Her arms were spread, her face turned up to the spotlight that wasn't there. He swallowed hard. He had to slow his heart but he couldn't draw a full breath.

"_Tell them how I am defying gravity_

_I'm flying high defying gravity_

_And soon I'll match them in renown_

_And nobody in all of Oz,_

_No wizard that there is or was_

_Is ever gonna bring me down!_

_Bring me down!"_

He was gone before the last note died away.

?

"Darling, you coming?"

The star necklace slipped from her fingers.

"Great," Yanna muttered. "Yeah, just a minute, Gen."

"You need some help?" Genesis poked his head into the bathroom. "Here, I'll get that, honey." He picked it up and paused, rubbing the star with his thumb. "Reeve picked this out for him. It's a symbol from an old eastern religion, means 'shield of God.'"

"Huh. He never told me that."

"Why am I not surprised?" Blue eyes glanced up at her. "He can't fix everything, you know."

"I don't want him to fix everything. I just want him home."

He nodded, undid the clasp, and carefully fastened it around her neck.

"You look gorgeous, by the way."

Yanna smoothed the forest-green chiffon, slender fingers picking at the halter-neck straps.

"I'm scared, Gen."

"Don't be." He touched her curls. "You have nothing to worry about."

"You don't even know why I'm scared."

"I have a pretty good idea." Genesis smiled, a real smile, gentle and not at all like the smile he gave during a con. "I'm proud of you."

"Did Missy tell you?"

"Didn't have to."

She sighed and turned to check her make-up in the mirror, a strange, cold feeling settling into her stomach.

"What is it?" Genesis asked.

"I…" Her eyes prickled. "I can't help but think this is the end of something. Like…this is the last night."

"Then let this be the best." He swept his thumbs under her eyes. "Smile for me, darling."

Yanna took a breath, blinked a few times, then smiled.

"There it is," he said. "Ready?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm ready. Will you be there?"

"Always." He offered his arm and they walked downstairs to meet the others.

?

_The Eagle and the Dove_ stood proud on the corner of the main tourist road and the business street. Even so, few got into the stucco-and-clay-tile building. It was a rich man's restaurant, exclusive, quiet. So naturally, Genesis knew every waiter, busboy, hostess, and manager, and they all knew him. The red general had taken the three of them, and whatever date he happened to be with, to the _Eagle_ many times over the years. Everywhere else, they were celebrities. Here, they were just another set of high-profile customers, gifted with no questions and quick service.

Looking up at the building tastefully lit with old-world lamps and candles, Sephiroth wondered if Genesis had to book ahead like everyone else or just make a phone call a week or two before.

In his pocket, his phone vibrated; a text message from Angeal. They would arrive soon. His stomach lurched at the thought but he swallowed, forced himself to look at the street. He wasn't brave, not like everyone always said. He was just exceptionally good at making himself do things and those things just happened to be dangerous most of the time. It had nothing to do with courage and everything to do with the fact that people depended on him to man up and do it.

But no one depended on him for this. No one's life hung in the balance. It was just him. His hands started to sweat in his gloves and he took a breath full of sea-salt and money. The charcoal suit and black dress shirt, plain compared to his uniform, clung uncomfortably to his back and shoulders. Wisps of silver hair blew into his eyes, stuck to his lips. He ignored it. Yanna would probably try to—His heart started pounding again. Nausea. Lovely. He doubted he would be able to eat anything.

Down on the street, an ivory, vintage car pulled up to the valets. Genesis got out first, apparently mid-story as he turned to help Cissnei out of the car. Angeal followed, helping Missy. Yanna got out last and Sephiroth flash-stepped in time to take her hand.

"General?" She blinked then smiled and hooked her hand in his elbow. "You disappeared."

"Apologies." He glanced at Angeal and Genesis, willing them to lecture him later. The dark general frowned slightly but didn't say anything as they all headed into the restaurant.

"Everything okay?" Yanna asked.

"Yes." Blood roared in his ears. His shirt collar felt tight and her hand burned hot on his arm. "Sorry. Stressful weekend."

The shaman glanced away and he bit back a curse.

"You look beautiful."

Dark eyes flew up to his, as surprised as the first time he said it. A tentative smile pulled at her lips.

"Thank you," she said, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Gen says you've been here before?"

"Once or twice."

"You're a real creature of habit, aren't you?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Is it good here?"

"Of course it's good here," Genesis chimed in. "You think I would bring you somewhere gross? Give me a little credit."

Yanna dropped her hand as soon as they reached their table and Sephiroth couldn't shake the feeling that he did something wrong. Clearing his throat, he helped her sit then claimed the spot next to her.

"Tell me about your day."

She smiled again.

"Okay."

?

"I'm so excited!" Yanna whispered. Sephiroth watched her nearly skip to her seat, her fingers working his sleeve.

"You've seen this before," he said, sitting next to her.

"Well yeah, but not these actors. This is the production every other troupe goes by."

"If you say so."

Of course, the troupe was good. Genesis would not have accepted anything less. Still, Sephiroth found himself remembering Yanna's version of the finale, wishing she was up there instead. He liked hearing her sing. Sure, she sang regardless of who was listening but at night, at his piano, she was just his.

He turned slightly, studying her profile in the darkness. She was completely enraptured in the performance, lips moving silently with the lyrics. He couldn't remember the last time he was so completely engrossed in something. His attention had been drawn in a dozen different directions since he was a child; he couldn't afford to be so focused on any one thing. But she could. Even with all the stress, all the nightmares she had gone through, she could still be that vulnerable.

The general looked down at his hands. 'Be brave,' Marilyn said. He wasn't sure he could do that. But if he didn't…

She gave him the choice. It was only right that he returned the favor.

"Shiushan." He kept his voice low, leaned close enough the scent of her hair made him dizzy. "Can we talk at the intermission?"

For the first time that night, her face tightened in pain.

"No," she whispered. "Let me have tonight."

As if there weren't going to be any more. He blinked, the knot in his gut shifting. No. No, there would be more nights like this. Safe, happy nights that didn't involve guns or capture or mad scientists. He tasted something like desperation in the back of his mouth and, suddenly, it was hard to swallow. There would be more. He took a shaky breath. If this is what it meant, he could be brave. For her.

Peeling off his gloves, Sephiroth reached over and took her hand. Yanna jumped slightly, dark eyes wide. She smelled frightened and he wished he knew what to say to fix it. Nothing came.

So instead, he gritted his teeth against the roaring blood in his ears and lifted her hand to his neck. Her mouth fell open. Dark, shining eyes met his and he willed himself to keep his gaze steady as he dropped his hand. Callused fingertips gently traced underneath his collar and up along his jawline. He clenched the armrests, tried to keep still, then she slipped in behind his ear. An entirely different shudder ran through him.

So close…

Licking his lips, Sephiroth leaned closer and placed a feather-light kiss on her forehead. The faintest whisper escaped her, a shiver he felt more than saw. He slipped his finger under her chin. Brave.

With one last thudding heartbeat, he caught her mouth with his.


	31. Epilogue

Thanks and love to everyone who made this story possible!

Epilogue

"What did you do with my towel, woman?"

Yanna rolled her eyes, stirring at the pan of eggs in her hand.

"I didn't do anything with it," she called back.

"Yanna."

It still amazed her how he could raise his voice without actually yelling. Sighing, the shaman hurried upstairs to find Sephiroth poking his head out of the shower.

"What?" she asked.

"Where is my towel? I had it on the rod last night."

"Oh that? It was dirty."

"I used it once."

"Dirty." Waving off his protests, she went into the linen closet, grabbed another towel, and threw it at him.

"This isn't mine," he said.

"Yours are scratchy."

"Mine are efficient."

"Hurry up and get dressed! They'll be here any minute and it's going to take forever for your hair to dry. I don't know why you didn't take a shower last night."

Sephiroth smirked, wrapping the towel around his waist as he stepped out of the stall.

"I was a little busy."

"Well, maybe you should budget your time better."

"Maybe you shouldn't take so long."

"Seph!"

"Is something burning?"

"Crap! Wolf, I hate you sometimes!" She flew back down the stairs to see wisps of smoke curling off the eggs. She swore and shoved it off the burner. As she picked at it, she felt her shoulders ease a little. At least most of it was okay.

"Stupid, arrogant, self-absorbed—"

"You called?" Sephiroth came downstairs in the loose kimono pants he loved so much, still squeezing his hair with a towel.

"You're insufferable," she growled. He chuckled and walked over to kiss her forehead.

"Thank you for breakfast," he said.

"Yeah yeah. Go put on a shirt. You know Marilyn will fuss at you."

"They won't be here for another twenty minutes."

"But you said—"

"I know what I said. I also know Heather. That woman was born late."

"Fine. Start the ucky bean juice then." She waved at the coffee maker. "Gen said they were coming over too."

"I'll lock my room."

Yanna felt her cheeks heat and she smacked his arm with a spatula.

"What?" he asked. "Are you embarrassed you brought them over here?"

"Shut up, Seph."

"Or what?" He raised an eyebrow at her. Yes, she hated him sometimes but Great Wolf, he was hot. Huffing, she pulled him into a strong, deep kiss.

"We're here!"

Shouts from outside made her jump.

"I—already? Seph—"

"Have to put on a shirt," he said, running back up to his room.

"Sephiroth!"

"Uh oh, he's at it already?" James shouldered open the front door, balancing bags and suitcases.

"Oh, James, let me help you with those." Yanna ran up to grab one of the bags only to get bowled over by an older woman with dyed blonde hair.

"There's my girl!" she cried, wrapping Yanna in a tight hug. "Oh, honey, you're so much prettier than the pictures!"

"Marilyn, Yanna," James said. "Yanna, my crazy wife."

"Love of your life, what?" Marilyn threw a grin at her husband then turned to introduce a younger couple and two adolescent boys. "Sweetie, this is my daughter, Heather, her husband, Garrett, and their two boys, Marc and Joseph."

"Pleasure to meet—"

"General!" The boy hollered in delight, thundering further into the house. They stopped just short of the general, saluted—to which he saluted back—then pounced on him.

"They always do that," Heather said. Yanna's heart swelled.

"It's adorable."

"Isn't it? Hello, Sephiroth."

"Heather." Sephiroth smiled at them and offered his hand to the younger man. "Garrett, how have you been?"

"You can talk at breakfast," Yanna said. "Seph, help James with the luggage."

"Right, what can I do to help?" Marilyn clapped her hands and followed Yanna into the kitchen with Heather while Sephiroth showed the men to their rooms.

"Gen and Angeal should be here soon too," Yanna said.

"You're a brave woman," Heather said, taking the plates into the dining room.

"No, they're bringing chocolate."

"Oh, that's okay then."

The shaman directed the pack of them to put the finishing touches on breakfast and had just ushered them into the dining room when Angeal and Genesis arrived, loud and dramatic as usual.

"I have never seen him smile this much," Heather whispered, though as loud as the men were getting, she needn't have bothered.

"Yeah?" Yanna asked.

"Yeah. You two seem really happy."

"Most of the time." She glanced over at the general, who threw her a wink before turning back to Garrett. "He's still a brat though."

"Well duh. So you said something about shopping?"

"Yeah, if you guys want to. I still can't find anything for Seph's birthday."

Heather grinned wickedly and looked over at Genesis.

"You think we can find something?" she asked.

"I think so." He smirked at her. "You want it to look pretty on you or on the floor?"

"Gen! Someone change the subject please!"

Heather just laughed.

"So Angeal, how's Missy?"

Yanna shook her head at them and sat back, a smile pulling at her lips. Loud and colorful and moving. This was how it was supposed to be.

Someone touched her hand and she jumped. Sephiroth looked at her, mischief dancing in his eyes.

"Problem?"

She stuck out her tongue, making his eyes grow a little darker, a little more predatory.

"Oh good grief," she muttered. He chuckled again and leaned in to give her a kiss.

"Eeww!"

"Gross!"

"We're eating!"

Sephiroth threw biscuits at Genesis, Marc, and Joseph without breaking the kiss.

"Brat," Yanna said, smiling. He smiled back and touched under her chin.

"So who wants to see the tanks?"

"Me me me!"


End file.
